nÄ«ca-jÄti, nÄ«ca-saá¹…gÄ«, kari nÄ«ca kÄja
tomÄra agrete prabhu kahite vÄsi lÄja

 nÄ«ca-jÄti - classified among the fallen; nÄ«ca-saá¹…gÄ« - associated with fallen souls; kari - we perform; nÄ«ca - abominable; kÄja - work; tomÄra - of You; agrete - in front; prabhu - O Lord; kahite - to say; vÄsi - we feel; lÄja - ashamed.


Text

“Sir, we belong to the lowest class of men, and our associates and employment are also of the lowest type. Therefore we cannot introduce ourselves to You. We feel very much ashamed, standing here before You.

Purport

Although the two brothers, RÅ«pa and SanÄtana (at that time Dabira KhÄsa and SÄkara Mallika), presented themselves as being born in a low family, they nonetheless belonged to a most respectable brÄhmaṇa family that was originally from KarṇÄá¹­a. Thus they actually belonged to the brÄhmaṇa caste. Unfortunately, because of being associated with the Muslim governmental service, their customs and behavior resembled those of the Muslims. Therefore they presented themselves as nÄ«ca-jÄti. The word jÄti means birth. According to Å›Ästra, there are three kinds of birth. The first birth is from the womb of the mother, the second birth is the acceptance of the reformatory method, and the third birth is acceptance by the spiritual master (initiation). One becomes abominable by adopting an abominable profession or by associating with people who are naturally abominable. RÅ«pa and SanÄtana, as Dabira KhÄsa and SÄkara Mallika, associated with Muslims, who were naturally opposed to brahminical culture and cow protection. In ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (Seventh Canto) it is stated that every person belongs to a certain classification. A person is identifiable by the special symptoms mentioned in the Å›Ästras. By one’s symptoms, one is known to belong to a certain caste. Both Dabira KhÄsa and SÄkara Mallika belonged to the brÄhmaṇa caste, but because they were employed by Muslims, their original habits degenerated into those of the Muslim community. Since the symptoms of brahminical culture were almost nil, they identified themselves with the lowest caste. In the Bhakti-ratnÄkara it is clearly stated that because SÄkara Mallika and Dabira KhÄsa associated with lower-class men, they introduced themselves as belonging to the lower classes. Actually, however, they had been born in respectable brÄhmaṇa families.