गृहस्थकर्त्तव्यानिThe duties of the householder
Verse 18
मातृः पितृन् शिशून् दारान् स्वजनान् बान्धवानपि । यः प्रव्रजति हित्वैतान् स महापातकी भवेत् ॥ १८ ॥
mātṛḥ pitṛn śiśūn dārān svajanān bāndhavānapi | yaḥ pravrajati hitvaitān sa mahāpātakī bhavēt || 18 ||
Translation
He who goes forth leaving these, mothers, fathers, children, wife, his own people and kin, becomes a great sinner.
Word by word
- mātṛḥ
- mothers
- pitṛn
- fathers
- śiśūn
- children
- dārān
- wife
- svajanān
- his own people
- bāndhavān
- (bāndhavān) kin
- api
- and
- yaḥ
- he who
- pravrajati
- goes forth
- hitvā
- leaving
- ētān
- (etān) these
- sa
- (saḥ) he
- mahāpātakī
- a great sinner
- bhavēt
- becomes
Meaning
The warning is made sharp. The commentary notes that the plurals ("mothers", "fathers") cover more than one person: father and the father's elders, and so on. "His own people" (svajana) are those whom one alone supports; "kin" (bāndhava) are relatives such as brothers who cannot support themselves. To leave them for renunciation is not merit but mahāpātaka, the gravest class of sin. The text writes "mātṛḥ" for the plural mātṝḥ.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
That a man who leaves his mother and the rest and goes forth incurs a great sin, he says in the two verses beginning "mātṛḥ…". Because the plural indicates many, "pitṝn" means the father and the rest. Svajanān: one's own people, those who are to be supported by oneself alone. Bāndhavān: those of one's kin unable to support themselves, brothers and the like. (This explanation covers verses 18 to 20.)