Study a Verse

• The occupational duty of a brāhmaṇa should not be accepted by persons in lower social orders, especially vaiśyas and śūdras.
• Even a kṣatriya cannot accept the duties of a brāhmaṇa unless there is an emergency, and then even if he does so he should not accept charity from anyone else.
• Because spiritual culture has been stopped all over the world, there is now an emergency, and therefore it is now time to train those who are considered lower and condemned, so that they may become brāhmaṇas and take up the work of spiritual progress.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Seriousness → Principled living. The example of bhakti becomes a guide to daily life.

Chapters 11–15 of Canto 7: Teachings on social and spiritual conduct. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 11: The Perfect Society: Four Social Classes

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

In times of emergency, all the classes but the kṣatriyas may accept professional duties of others. The means of livelihood known as ṛta ( śiloñchana), amṛta ( ayācita), mṛta ( yācñā), pramṛta ( karṣaṇa), and satyānṛta ( vāṇijya) may be accepted by everyone but the kṣatriyas.