जघन्यो नोत्तमां वृत्तिमनापदि भजेन्नरः ।
ऋते राजन्यमापत्सु सर्वेषामपि सर्वशः ॥१७॥

jaghanyo nottamÄá¹ vá¹›ttim
anÄpadi bhajen naraḥ
á¹›te rÄjanyam Äpatsu
sarveá¹£Äm api sarvaÅ›aḥ

 jaghanyaḥ - low (person); na - not; uttamÄm - high; vá¹›ttim - means of livelihood; anÄpadi - when there is no social upheaval; bhajet - may accept; naraḥ - a man; á¹›te - except; rÄjanyam - the profession of the ká¹£atriyas; Äpatsu - at times of emergency; sarveá¹£Äm - of everyone in every status of life; api - certainly; sarvaÅ›aḥ - all professions or occupational duties.


Text

Except in a time of emergency, lower persons should not accept the occupational duties of those who are higher. When there is such an emergency, of course, everyone but the ká¹£atriya may accept the means of livelihood of others.

Purport

The occupational duty of a brÄhmaṇa should not be accepted by persons in lower social orders, especially vaiÅ›yas and śūdras. For example, an occupational duty of the brÄhmaṇa is to teach Vedic knowledge, but unless there is an emergency, this professional duty should not be accepted by the ká¹£atriyas, vaiÅ›yas or śūdras. Even a ká¹£atriya cannot accept the duties of a brÄhmaṇa unless there is an emergency, and then even if he does so he should not accept charity from anyone else. Sometimes brÄhmaṇas protest against our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement for creating brÄhmaṇas from Europeans, or, in other words, from mlecchas and yavanas. This movement, however, is here supported in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. At the present moment, society is in a chaotic condition, and everyone has given up the cultivation of spiritual life, which is especially meant for the brÄhmaṇas. 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 brÄhmaṇas and take up the work of spiritual progress. The spiritual progress of human society has been stopped, and this should be considered an emergency. Here is solid support from NÄrada Muni of the movement known as Kṛṣṇa consciousness.