Shloka 6
Vītahavya’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya (Vītahavya–Vipratva) | वीतहव्यस्य ब्राह्मण्यप्राप्तिः
तिर्यग्योनिगत: सर्वो मानुष्यं यदि गच्छति । स जायते पुल्कसो वा चण्डालो वाप्यसंशय:
tiryagyoni-gataḥ sarvo mānuṣyaṃ yadi gacchati | sa jāyate pulkaso vā caṇḍālo vāpy asaṃśayaḥ ||
قال بهيشما: إنّ كلَّ كائنٍ سقط في رحمِ حيوانٍ أو طائر، فإذا نال بعد ذلك مولدًا إنسانيًّا، وُلِد أولًا «بولكاشا» أو «تشاندالا»—ولا ريب في ذلك.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a karmic gradation of rebirth: transition from animal/bird existence to human birth is depicted as occurring first through a low and stigmatized human condition, emphasizing that prior actions shape the quality and social circumstances of one’s next embodiment.
Bhīṣma is instructing (in a dharma-teaching context) about consequences of conduct across births, stating a rule-like assertion about how beings move from non-human wombs to human birth, using Pulkaśa and Caṇḍāla as illustrative categories.