Shloka 13

Devanagari script

हिंसानृतप्रिया लुब्धा: सर्वकर्मोपजीविन: । कृष्णा: शौचपरिभ्रष्टास्ते द्विजा: शूद्रतां गता:,जो शौच और सदाचारसे भ्रष्ट होकर हिंसा और असत्यके प्रेमी हो गये, लोभवश व्याधोंके समान सभी तरहके निन्द्य कर्म करके जीविका चलाने लगे और इसीलिये जिनके शरीरका रंग काला पड़ गया, वे ब्राह्मण शूद्रभावको प्राप्त हो गये

Transliteration

hiṃsānṛtapriyā lubdhāḥ sarvakarmopajīvinaḥ | kṛṣṇāḥ śaucaparibhraṣṭās te dvijāḥ śūdratāṃ gatāḥ ||

Translation

قال بهارادفاجا: إنّ ذوي الميلادين الذين انحرفوا عن الطهارة وحسن السلوك، فأحبّوا العنف والكذب، والذين—بدافع الطمع—اتّخذوا معاشهم من كل صنف من الأعمال المذمومة، قد «أُظلموا» (تدنّسوا أخلاقيًّا) وبذلك هبطوا إلى حال الشودرَة (śūdra).

Word by Word

हिंसा-अनृत-प्रियाḥfond of violence and falsehood

लुब्धाःgreedy

सर्व-कर्म-उपजीविनःliving by all kinds of (base) occupations

कृष्णाःblack/dark (in complexion)

शौच-परिभ्रष्टाःfallen away from purity/clean conduct

तेthose

द्विजाःtwice-born (Brahmins etc.)

शूद्रताम्the state of being a Shudra

गताःhaving gone/attained

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bharadvāja

dvija

śūdra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Status as ‘twice-born’ is upheld by śauca (purity) and ācāra (right conduct). When one embraces violence, falsehood, greed, and censured livelihoods, one undergoes moral and social degradation—described here as falling into śūdratā.

What is happening in the narrative?

In a didactic passage of the Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja explains how deviation from ethical discipline causes the decline of dvijas, portraying their fall through traits like hiṃsā, anṛta, and indiscriminate blameworthy work, culminating in the notion of becoming śūdra-like.