yadṛcchayopapannānnam
adyāc chreṣṭham utāparam
tathā vāsas tathā śayyāḿ
prāptaḿ prāptaḿ bhajen muniḥ
yadricchaya -- of its own accord; upapanna -- acquired; annam -- food; adyat -- he should eat; sreshtham -- first class; uta -- or; aparam -- low class; tatha -- similarly; vasah -- clothing; tatha -- similarly; sayyam -- bedding; praptam praptam -- whatever is automatically obtained; bhajet -- should accept; munih -- the sage.
A sage should accept the food, clothing and bedding -- be they of excellent or inferior quality -- that come of their own accord.
Sometimes excellent, sumptuous food will come without endeavor, and at other times tasteless food appears. A sage should not become happily excited when a sumptuous plate is brought to him, nor should he angrily refuse ordinary food that comes of its own accord. If no food comes at all, as mentioned in the previous verse, one must endeavor to avoid starvation. From these verses it appears that even a saintly sage must have a good dose of common sense.
