Shloka 55
उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel
शूद्रो<हमभवं पूर्व तापसो भृशसंयुतः । ऋषिरुग्रतपास्त्वं च तदाभूद् द्विजसत्तम,विप्रवर! पहले जन्ममें मैं शूद्र था। फिर बड़ा भारी तपस्वी हो गया। उन्हीं दिनों आप उग्र तप करनेवाले श्रेष्ठ महर्षि थे
śūdro ’ham abhavaṃ pūrvaṃ tāpaso bhṛśa-saṃyutaḥ | ṛṣir ugra-tapās tvaṃ ca tadābhūd dvija-sattama ||
হে বিপ্ৰবৰ! পূৰ্বজন্মত মই শূদ্ৰ আছিলোঁ; পাছত অতি কঠোৰ সংযমেৰে যুক্ত তপস্বী হৈ উঠিলোঁ। আৰু হে দ্বিজসত্তম, সেই সময়ত আপুনি উগ্ৰ তপস্যাত ৰত শ্ৰেষ্ঠ ঋষি আছিল।
पुरोहित उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes moral and spiritual development across lives: birth-status is not the final measure of worth, and intense discipline (tapas) and self-restraint can elevate one’s spiritual standing; likewise, true excellence is linked to austerity and conduct.
The priest-speaker recounts a prior-life memory: he was once a Śūdra who later became a powerful ascetic, while the person addressed (honored as ‘best among the twice-born’) was then a great sage practicing fierce austerities—setting a karmic and ethical background for the ongoing discourse.