Text 28
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
api brahman gurukulād
bhavatā labdha-dakṣiṇāt
samāvṛttena dharma-jña
bhāryoḍhā sadṛśī na vā
śrī-bhagavān uvāca — the Supreme Lord said; api — whether; brahman — O brāhmaṇa; gurukulāt — from the spiritual master’s school; bhavatā — by your good self; labdha — having received; dakṣiṇāt — remuneration; samāvṛttena — returned; dharma — of religious principles; jña — O knower; bhāryā — a wife; ūḍhā — married; sadṛśī — suitable; na — not; vā — or.
The Supreme Lord said: My dear brāhmaṇa, you know well the ways of dharma. After you offered the gift of remuneration to our guru and returned home from his school, did you marry a compatible wife or not?
Among civilized human beings, the question of āśrama, or spiritual order, is significant. In other words, every human being must execute prescribed duties as a celibate student, a married man or woman, a retired person or a renunciant. Since Lord Kṛṣṇa could see that the brāhmaṇa was poorly dressed, He inquired if His friend had been properly married and was executing the duties of household life. Since he was not dressed as a renunciant, he would be without a suitable āśrama unless he were properly married.