Verse 1.14.14

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.14.14:

কোন-দিন সন্ন্যাসী আইসে দশ বিশ সবা’ নিমন্ত্রেন প্রভু হৈযা হরিষ ॥ ১৪ ॥

कोन-दिन सन्न्यासी आइसे दश बिश सबा’ निमन्त्रेन प्रभु हैया हरिष ॥ १४ ॥

kona-dina sannyāsī āise daśa biśa sabā’ nimantrena prabhu haiyā hariṣa || 14 ||

kona-dina sannyasi aise dasa bisa saba’ nimantrena prabhu haiya harisa (14)

English translation:

(14) Sometimes ten or twenty sannyāsīs would come, and the Lord would happily invite them for lunch.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Because the noble householder residents of Navadvīpa normally followed the principles of varṇāśrama, many renounced sannyāsīs from various places came to their houses as guests. On one hand, the Lord removed the poverty of the poor, the distressed, and His guests, and on the other hand, He exhibited ideal pious householder pastimes by serving the renounced sannyāsīs of the fourth āśrama. In order to establish that every pious

householder is obliged to respect the principles of āśrama-dharma, the Lord gave shelter and food to sannyāsīs and thus set the perfect example of pious householder behavior. It is the unavoidable duty of every householder who follows the principles of varṇāśrama to provide food and shelter according to their means to the fourth āśrama renounced sannyāsīs, who travel all over the country for the householders’ benefit. In the course of time, as the attached householders enviously cheated the sannyāsīs from their rightful share, the real principles of āśrama-dharma have gradually become slackened and distorted. What to speak of this, some householders even think that their highest occupational duty is simply to cheat sannyāsīs who desire householder’s welfare of their rightful share of alms from the householders. Though the Lord did not exhibit the pastimes of a prosperous or wealthy householder, He sometimes invited ten or twenty sannyāsīs to His house for meals in order to teach householders to serve the sannyāsīs.