SB 10.11.18
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 18
- dhūli-dhūsaritāṅgas tvaṁ
- putra majjanam āvaha
- janmarkṣaṁ te 'dya bhavati
- viprebhyo dehi gāḥ śuciḥ
SYNONYMS
dhūli-dhūsarita-aṅgaḥ tvam — You have become covered with dust and sand all over Your body; putra — my dear son; majjanam āvaha — now come here, take Your bath and cleanse Yourself; janma-ṛkṣam — the auspicious star of Your birth; te — of You; adya — today; bhavati — it is; viprebhyaḥ — unto the pure brāhmaṇas; dehi — give in charity; gāḥ — cows; śuciḥ — being purified.
TRANSLATION
Mother Yaśodā further told Kṛṣṇa: My dear son, because of playing all day, Your body has become covered with dust and sand. Therefore, come back, take Your bath and cleanse Yourself. Today the moon is conjoined with the auspicious star of Your birth. Therefore, be pure and give cows in charity to the brāhmaṇas.
PURPORT
It is a custom of Vedic culture that whenever there is any auspicious ceremony, one should give valuable cows in charity to the brāhmaṇas. Therefore mother Yaśodā requested Kṛṣṇa, "Instead of being enthusiastic in playing, now please come and be enthusiastic in charity." Yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyaṁ kāryam eva tat. As advised in Bhagavad-gītā (BG 18.5), sacrifice, charity and austerity should never be given up. Yajño dānaṁ tapaś caiva pāvanāni manīṣiṇām: even if one is very much advanced in spiritual life, one should not give up these three duties. To observe one's birthday ceremony, one should do something in terms of one of these three items (yajña, dāna or tapaḥ), or all of them together.