# SB 6.2.26 ## Text > aho me paramaṁ kaṣṭam > abhūd avijitātmanaḥ > yena viplāvitaṁ brahma > vṛṣalyāṁ jāyatātmanā ## Synonyms *aho*—alas; *me*—my; *paramam*—extreme; *kaṣṭam*—miserable condition; *abhūt*—became; *avijita*-*ātmanaḥ*—because my senses were uncontrolled; *yena*—by which; *viplāvitam*—destroyed; *brahma*—all my brahminical qualifications; *vṛṣalyām*—through a *śūdrāṇī,* a maidservant; *jāyatā*—being born; *ātmanā*—by me. ## Translation **Ajāmila said: Alas, being a servant of my senses, how degraded I became! I fell down from my position as a duly qualified brāhmaṇa and begot children in the womb of a prostitute.** ## Purport The men of the higher classes—the *brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas* and *vaiśyas*—do not beget children in the wombs of lower-class women. Therefore the custom in Vedic society is to examine the horoscopes of a girl and boy being considered for marriage to see whether their combination is suitable. Vedic astrology reveals whether one has been born in the *vipra-varṇa, kṣatriya-varṇa, vaiśya-varṇa* or *śūdra-varṇa,* according to the three qualities of material nature. This must be examined because a marriage between a boy of the *vipra-varṇa* and a girl of the *śūdra-varṇa* is incompatible; married life would be miserable for both husband and wife. Consequently a boy should marry a girl of the same category. Of course, this is *trai-guṇya,* a material calculation according to the *Vedas,* but if the boy and girl are devotees there need be no such considerations. A devotee is transcendental, and therefore in a marriage between devotees, the boy and girl form a very happy combination.