SB 1.12.14 (1964)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT No. 14
- Hiranyam gam mahim graman hasti aswan nripatir varan
- Pradat Swannam cha viprebhyoh Prajatirthe sa tirthabit.
ENGLISH SYNONYMS
Hiranyam—gold, Gam—cow, Mahim—land, Graman—villages, Aswan—horses, Hasti—elephants, Nripatir—the King, Varan—rewards, Pradat—gave in charity, Swannamcha—good food grains, Viprebhyoh—unto the Brahmins, Prajatirthe—on the occasion of giving in charity on the birthday of a son, Sa—he, Tirthabit—one who knows how, when and where charity is to be given.
TRANSLATION
Thus on the occasion of giving in charity to the Brahmins on account of birth of a son, the King who knew it how, where and when charity is to be given, gave in charity to the Brahmins, gold, land, villages, elephants, horses, and good food grains.
PURPORT
Only the Brahmins and Sannyasins are authorised to accept charity from the householders. In all the different occasions of Sanskaras specially during the time of birth, marriage and death, wealth is distributed to the Brahmins because the Brahmins would have been giving the highest quality of service in the matter of the prime necessity of the human kind. The charity was substantial in the shape of gold, land, villages, horses, elephants and food grains with other materials for cooking complete foodstuff. The Brahmins were not, therefore, poor in the actual sense of the term. On the contrary because they possessed gold, land, villages, horses, elephants and sufficient grains so they had nothing to earn for themselves. They would simply devote themselves in the matter of well being of the entire society.
The word Tirthabit is significant because the king knew it well where and when charity has to be given. Charity is never unproductive neither it is blind. In the Shastras charity was offered to persons who deserve to accept charity in terms of spiritual enlightenment. The so-called Daridra-Narayan a misconception of the Supreme Lord by unauthorised persons, is never to be found in the Shastras, as the objective of charity. Neither a wreched poor man is able to receive much munificent charities like horses, elephants, land and villages. The conclusion is that the intelligent class of men in the society or the Brahmins specifically engaged in the service of the Lord,-were properly maintained without any anxiety for the needs of the body and the king and other householders would have gladly looked after their all sorts of comforts.
It is enjoined in the Shastras that so long the child is joined with the mother by the navel pipe, the child is considered to be one body with the mother but as soon as the pipe is cut off and the child is separated from the mother, the purificatory process of Jatakam is performed. The administrative demigods and past forefathers of the family come to see a newly born child and such occasion is specifically accepted as the proper time for distributing wealth to the right persons productively in the matter of spiritual advancement of the society.