yadyapi 'sanoá¸iyÄ' haya seita brÄhmaṇa
sanoá¸iyÄ-ghare sannyÄsÄ« nÄ kare bhojana

 yadyapi - although; sanoá¸iyÄ - a priest of the Sanoá¸iyÄ community; haya - was; seita - that; brÄhmaṇa - brÄhmaṇa; sanoá¸iyÄ-ghare - in the house of a Sanoá¸iyÄ (goldsmith); sannyÄsÄ« - a person in the renounced order of life; nÄ kare bhojana - does not accept food.


Text

The brÄhmaṇa belonged to the Sanoá¸iyÄ brÄhmaṇa community, and a sannyÄsÄ« does not accept food from such a brÄhmaṇa.

Purport

In northwestern India, vaiÅ›yas are divided into various subdivisions. ÅšrÄ«la Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura points out that they are divided as Ä€garwÄlÄ, KÄlawÄra and SÄnwÄá¸a. Out of them, the Ä€garwÄlÄs are said to be first-class vaiÅ›yas, and the KÄlawÄras and SÄnwÄá¸as are considered lower due to their occupational degradation. The KÄlawÄras generally take wine and other intoxicants. Although they are vaiÅ›yas, they are considered to belong to a lower class. The priests who guide the KÄlawÄras and the SÄnwÄá¸as are called Sanoá¸iyÄ brÄhmaṇas. ÅšrÄ«la Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura states that the word sÄnoyÄá¸a in Bengal indicates suvarṇa-vaṇik. In Bengal there are priests who guide the suvarṇa-vaṇik community, which is also considered a low class. There is little difference between the SÄnwÄá¸as and the suvarṇa-vaṇiks. Generally the suvarṇa-vaṇiks are bankers dealing in gold and silver. In western India, the Ä€garwÄlÄs also belong to the banking profession. This is the original business of the suvarṇa-vaṇik or Ä€garwÄlÄ community. Historically, the Ä€garwÄlÄs came from the up-country named Ayodha, and the suvarṇa-vaṇik community also came from Ayodha. It therefore appears that the suvarṇa-vaṇiks and the Ä€garwÄlÄs belong to the same community. The Sanoá¸iyÄ brÄhmaṇas were the guides of the KÄlawÄras and SÄnwÄá¸as. They are therefore considered to be lower-class brÄhmaṇas, and a sannyÄsÄ« is not allowed to take alms or food from them. However, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu accepted lunch cooked by a Sanoá¸iyÄ brÄhmaṇa simply because he belonged to MÄdhavendra Purī’s community. ÅšrÄ«la MÄdhavendra PurÄ« was the spiritual master of Īśvara PurÄ«, who was the spiritual master of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. Thus a spiritual relationship is established on the spiritual platform, without consideration of material inferiority or superiority.