कच्चित्ते सफला वेदाः कच्चित्ते सफलाः क्रियाः।
कच्चित्ते सफला दाराः कच्चित्ते सफलं श्रुतम्॥
kaccit te saphalā vedāḥ kaccit te saphalāḥ kriyāḥ
kaccit te saphalā dārāḥ kaccit te saphalaṁ śrutam
kaccit = have; te = You studied; saphalāḥ = attained success; vedāḥ = the Vedas that; kaccit = has; te = Your; saphalāḥ = attained success; kriyāḥ = wealth; kaccit = have; te = Your; saphalāḥ = attained success; dārāḥ = wives; kaccit = has; te = Your; saphalam = attained success; śrutam = learning of the [subsidiary] scriptures.
Have the Vedas that You studied attained success? Has Your wealth attained success?1 Have Your wives attained success? Has Your learning of the [subsidary] scriptures attained success?
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: kriyante sādhyanta iti kriyāḥ dhanāni.
1 The Vedas become successful when we obey them. The Supreme Lord out of infinite compassion and love has given us the Vedic scriptures so that we can carry out their instructions, become spiritually realized and progress towards liberation from material existence in order to serve Him in His Vaikuṇṭha universe with full love. This project of the Lord attains success when we obey the scriptures that we study after understanding them.
2 Our wealth can be made successful when given in charity and when sinlessly utilized otherwise. Śrīla Prabhupāda has repeatedly instructed that serious Vaiṣṇavas donate 50% of their income to facilitate the noblest cause of spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Those who are unable to imagine donating that much for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness can start by donating a lesser percentage for this noble cause and gradually increase it until they come to Prabhupāda’s standard, which is actually the standard of exalted souls like Kolāvecā Śrīdhara, a pure devotee and associate of Lord Caitanya.
3 According to Vedic dharma, a son is dutybound to take care of his parents for their whole life. Within communities which follow Vedic dharma, each son is a financial security deposit for the parents. (Each daughter will join the family of her husband when she gets married.)
4 One should learn scriptures in order to develop a good character and conduct. Mere academic studies are of no use.
5 This verse reappears in the Mahābhārata as text 5.39.51 with the second and fourth lines transposed. Without the help of a learned Vaiṣṇava commentary on the Rāmāyaṇa, the intended meaning of the Rāmāyaṇa verse that is being commented upon would be a mystery. Nor would most of us know that this verse has been clarified twice in the Mahābhārata. The Vedic scriptures are internally consistent, but we need the help of the Vaiṣṇava disciplic successions to understand the teachings of these scriptures in order to recognize their internal consistency.
The Vedas that one studies attain success through the performance of Agnihotra and other activities [prescribed in those Vedas].1 One’s wealth attains success through charity and enjoyment.2 One’s wives attain success through conjugal enjoyment and by giving birth to sons.3 One’s learning of the [subsidiary] scriptures attains success by [developing a good] character and conduct.4
The Mahābhārata (2.5.101) states:
agnihotra-phalā vedā datta-bhukta-phalaṁ dhanam
rati-putra-phalā dārāḥ śīla-vṛtta-phalaṃ śrutam
“The Vedas attain success through [performance of] Agnihotra sacrifices. Wealth attains success when given in charity and [sinlessly] enjoyed. A wife attains success through conjugal enjoyment and by giving birth to sons. Learning [of subsidiary scriptures] attains success by [development of good] character and conduct.”5