नासच्छास्त्रेषु सज्जेत नोपजीवेत जीविकाम् ।
वादवादांस्त्यजेत्तर्कान्पक्षं कंच न संश्रयेत् ॥
न शिष्याननुबध्नीत ग्रन्थान्नैवाभ्यसेद् बहून् ।
न व्याख्यामुपयुञ्जीत नारम्भानारभेत्क्वचित् ॥
nāsac-chāstreṣu sajjeta nopajīveta jīvikām |
vādavādāṁs tyajet tarkān pakṣaṁ kañca na saṁśrayet ||
na śiṣyān anubadhnīta granthān naivābhyased bahūn |
na vyākhyām upayuñjīta nārambhān ārabhet kvacit ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.13.7–8; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.113)
“[Śrī Nārada to Śrī Yudhiṣṭhira regarding rules for a sannyāsī:] One should not foster attachment to texts related to the unreal (asat-śāstra), one should not subsist on a vocation, one should avoid arguments based on assertions regarding propositions, and one should not take any particular side [in such arguments]. One should not be followed by [many] disciples, one should not study many texts, one should not engage in teaching [many texts], and one should never start undertakings.”
Commentary
asac-chāstreṣv anātma-pareṣu | jīvikāṁ nakṣatra-vidyādi-vṛttim | vādavādān jalpa-vitaṇḍādi-niṣṭhān | kañca kam api pakṣaṁ nirbandhena na saṁśrayeti ||7|| śiṣyān nānubadhnīta pralobhanādinā balān nāpādayet | ārambhān maṭhādi-vyāpārān ||8||
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“‘Texts related to the unreal’ (asat-śāstra) refers to those pertaining to the non-self. A ‘vocation’ (jīvikām) refers to a profession such as knowledge of the stars [i.e., jyotiṣa (astrology)] and so forth. ‘Based on assertions regarding propositions’ (vādavādān) means based on disputation (jalpa), cavil (vitaṇḍā), and so forth. One should not take any particular (kañca) side with insistence. ||7|| ‘One should not be followed by [many] disciples’ (śiṣyān nānubadhnīyāt) means one should not make [many disciples] by force by means of allurement and so on. ‘Undertakings’ (ārambhān) refers to the operation of monasteries (maṭhas) and so on [i.e., temples, etc.].” ||8||
kiṁ ca, kam api pakṣaṁ na saṁśrayet ||7|| nānubadhnīyāt pralobhanādinā balān na kuryād ity arthaḥ | ārambhān maṭhādi-vyāpārān ||8||
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“Furthermore, one should not take any particular side. ||7|| ‘One should not be followed’ (nānubadhnīyāt) [by many disciples] means one should not make [many disciples] by force by means of allurement and so on. ‘Undertakings’ (ārambhān) refers to the operation of monasteries (maṭhas) and so on [i.e., temples, etc.].” ||8||
śiṣyān naivānubadhnīyād ity ādiko yadyapi sannyāsi-dharmas tathāpi nivṛttānām apy anyeṣāṁ bhaktānām upayujyata iti bhāvaḥ | etac cānadhikāri-śiṣyādy-apekṣayā śrī-nāradādau tac-chravaṇāt tat-tat-sampradāya-nāśa-prasaṅgāc ca, anyathā jñāna-śāṭhyāpatteḥ | ataeva nānubadhnīyād iti sva-sva-sampradāya-vṛddhy-artham anadhikāriṇo’pi na saṁgṛhṇīyād ity arthaḥ | bahūn iti bhagavad-bahirmukhān anyāṁs tv ity arthaḥ | ārambhān ity api tadvat |
(Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.113)
“Although, ’One should not be followed by [many] disciples,’ and so forth is the [enjoined] duty (dharma) of a sannyāsī, still this [i.e., the set of four instructions in the verse under discussion, viz., SB 7.13.8] is applicable to other bhaktas who are renounced as well. This is the purport. This [set of instructions], furthermore, is in regard to ineligible (anadhikāri) disciples and so forth [i.e., as well as unsuitable texts and undertakings] (1) because of hearing of that [i.e., acceptance of many disciples] in the case of Śrī Nārada and others [i.e., because renunciants like Śrī Nārada did accept numerous persons as disciples when the persons they met had the required eligibility (adhikāra)], (2) because of the contingency of the termination of those various sampradāyas [if few or no disciples are made by the present members of those various sampradāyas], and (3) because of an occurrence of miserliness with knowledge (jñāna-śāṭhya) otherwise [i.e., if one does not accept disciples and teach them the knowledge one has received from one’s guru and sampradāya]. Therefore, ‘One should not be followed’ means one should not accept even those who do not have the [requisite] eligibility (anadhikāriṇaḥ) for the purpose of increasing one’s own sampradāya. ‘Many’ (bahūn) means rather others who are averse (bahirmukha) to Bhagavān. ‘Undertakings’ (ārambhān) too are so [i.e., as one should not accept as disciples persons who lack the necessary eligibility and are averse to Bhagavān, so one should not engage in undertakings which are unfavorable for bhakti-sādhana and unrelated to Bhagavān].”
śiṣyān naivānubadhnīyād ity ādiko yadyapi sannyāsi-dharmas tathāpi nivṛttānām api bhaktānām upayujyata iti bhāvaḥ | etac cānadhikāri-śiṣyādy-apekṣayā śrī-nāradādau tac-chravaṇāt tat-tat-sampradāya-nāśa-prasaṅgāc ca, anyathā jñāna-śāṭhyāpatteḥ | ataeva nānubadhnīyād iti sva-sampradāya-vṛddhy-artham anadhikāriṇo’pi na gṛhṇīyād ity arthaḥ | bahūn iti bhagavad-bahirmukhān anyāṁs tv ity arthaḥ | ārambhān ity api |
(Bhakti-sāra-pradarśanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.113)
“Although, ‘One should not be followed by [many] disciples,’ and so forth is the [enjoined] duty (dharma) of a sannyāsī, still this [i.e., the set of four instructions in the verse under discussion, viz., SB 7.13.8] is applicable to bhaktas who are renounced as well. This is the purport. This [set of instructions], furthermore, is in regard to ineligible (anadhikāri) disciples and so forth [i.e., as well as unsuitable texts and undertakings] (1) because of hearing of that [i.e., acceptance of many disciples] in the case of Śrī Nārada and others [i.e., because renunciants like Śrī Nārada did accept numerous persons as disciples when they had the required eligibility (adhikāra)], (2) because of the contingency of the termination of those various sampradāyas [if few or no disciples are made by the present members of those various sampradāyas], and (3) because of an occurrence of miserliness with knowledge (jñāna-śāṭhya) otherwise [i.e., if one does not accept disciples and teach them the knowledge one has received from one’s own guru and sampradāya]. Therefore, ‘One should not be followed’ means one should not accept even those who do not have the [requisite] eligibility (anadhikāriṇaḥ) for the purpose of increasing one’s own sampradāya. ‘Many’ (bahūn) means rather others who are averse (bahirmukha) to Bhagavān. ‘Undertakings’ (ārambhān) too [are to be understood in this way, i.e., as one should not accept as disciples persons who lack the necessary eligibility and are averse to Bhagavān, so one should not engage in undertakings which are unfavorable for bhakti-sādhana and unrelated to Bhagavān].”