śatakatrayam 3.30: bhikṣāhāram (begging food)

by Jahnabi Barooah

भिक्षाहारमदैन्यमप्रतिसुखं भीतिच्छिदं सर्वदा
दुर्मात्सर्यमदाभिमानमथनं दु:खौघविध्वंसनम् ।
सर्वत्रान्वहमप्रयत्नसुलभं साधुप्रियं पावनं
शंभो: सत्रमवार्यमक्षयनिधिं शंसन्ति योगीश्वरा: ।।३०।।
वैराग्यशतके

begging food is not humiliating.
rather, it is unsurpassed joy,
and always destroys fear.
blighting pride, intoxication and envy,
it quells the ocean of misery.
always, all the time, it is easy to get.
beloved of sages, it is purifying too.
the best of yogis praise it–
the begging of food–
as shiva’s great sacrifice,
accessible to all, an inexhaustible ocean. ||30||
vairāgyaśataka