ayam hi sruta-sampannah

 sila-vrtta-gunalayah

dhrta-vrato mrdur dantah

 satya-van mantra-vic chucih

 

gurv-agny-atithi-vrddhanam

 susrusur anahankrtah

sarva-bhuta-suhrt sadhur

 mita-vag anasuyakah

 

Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: 

 

In the beginning this brahmana named Ajamila studied all the Vedic literatures. He was a reservoir of good character, good conduct and good qualities. Firmly established in executing all the Vedic injunctions, he was very mild and gentle, and he kept his mind and senses under control. Furthermore, he was always truthful, he knew how to chant the Vedic mantras, and he was also very pure. Ajamila was very respectful to his spiritual master, the fire-god, guests, and the elderly members of his household. Indeed, he was free from false prestige. He was upright, benevolent to all living entities, and well-behaved. He would never speak nonsense or envy anyone.

 

Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: 

 

The order carriers of Yamaraja, the Yamadutas, are explaining the factual position of piety and impiety and how a living entity is entangled in this material world. Describing the history of Ajamila’s life, the Yamadutas relate that in the beginning he was a learned scholar of the Vedic literature. He was well-behaved, neat and clean, and very kind to everyone. In fact, he had all good qualities. In other words, he was like a perfect brahmana. A brahmana is expected to be perfectly pious, to follow all the regulative principles and to have all good qualities. The symptoms of piety are explained in these verses. Srila Viraraghava Acarya comments that dhrta-vrata means dhrtam vratam stri-sanga-rahityatmaka-brahmacarya-rupam. In other words, Ajamila followed the rules and regulations of celibacy as a perfect brahmacari and was very softhearted, truthful, clean and pure. How he fell down in spite of all these qualities and thus came to be threatened with punishment by Yamaraja will be described in the following verses.