Shloka 15
युधिष्ठिरप्रश्नः—विश्वामित्रस्य ब्राह्मणत्वकौतूहलम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry on Viśvāmitra’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
ध्रुवस्यौत्तानपादस्य ब्रद्मर्षीणां तथैव च । मध्यं ज्वलति यो नित्यमुदीचीमाश्रितो दिशम्
dhruvasyauttānapādasya brahmarṣīṇāṁ tathaiva ca | madhyaṁ jvalati yo nityam udīcīm āśrito diśam ||
যুধিষ্ঠিৰে ক’লে—উত্তানপাদৰ পুত্ৰ ধ্ৰুৱ, যি উত্তৰ দিশৰ আকাশত ব্ৰহ্মৰ্ষিসকল (সপ্তৰ্ষিসকল)ৰ মাজত তৰাৰূপে চিৰদিন দীপ্তিমান, সি ত’ ক্ষত্ৰিয়েই আছিল। কুৰুনন্দন! তেওঁৰ এই আৰু আন বহু আশ্চৰ্য কৰ্ম স্মৰণ কৰি মোৰ হৃদয়ত কৌতূহল জাগিছে—সি কেনেকৈ ব্ৰাহ্মণ বুলি গণ্য হ’ল?
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse raises an ethical and social inquiry central to dharma: whether spiritual attainment and recognized sanctity (as with Dhruva’s cosmic exaltation) can transcend or transform birth-based identity (kṣatriya vs. brāhmaṇa). It frames varṇa not merely as heredity but as a topic to be examined through conduct, merit, and tradition.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a revered interlocutor (implied by “Kuru-nandana” in the surrounding context) and points to Dhruva’s well-known celestial position in the northern sky among the sages’ stars. Remembering Dhruva’s extraordinary deeds, he expresses curiosity about how Dhruva—known as a kṣatriya by birth—came to be spoken of as a brāhmaṇa.