Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.17.44

samuddharanti ye vipram

sīdantam mat-parāyanam

tān uddharishye na cirād

āpadbhyo naur ivārnavāt

SYNONYMS

samuddharanti — uplift; ye — those who; vipram — a brāhmana or devotee; sīdantam — suffering (from poverty); mat-parāyanam — surrendered to Me; tān — those who have uplifted; uddharishye — I will uplift; na cirāt — in the near future; āpadbhyah — from all miseries; nauh — a boat; iva — like; arnavāt — from the ocean.

TRANSLATION

Just as a ship rescues those who have fallen into the ocean, similarly, I very quickly rescue from all calamities those persons who uplift brāhmanas and devotees suffering in a poverty-stricken condition.

PURPORT

The Lord has described how brāhmanas and devotees achieve the perfection of life, and now a similar perfection is offered to those who utilize their materialistic wealth to relieve the poverty-stricken condition of devotees and brāhmanas. Although one may neglect the devotional service of the Lord to pursue a material life of sense gratification, one can rectify one's position by dedicating one's hard-earned money to the service of the Lord. Seeing the difficult austerities accepted by saintly persons, a pious person should make arrangements for their comfort. Just as a boat saves hopeless people who have fallen into the ocean, similarly, the Lord uplifts persons who have hopelessly fallen into the ocean of material attachment if they have been charitable to the brāhmanas and devotees.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari