Shloka 11
Vītahavya’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya (Vītahavya–Vipratva) | वीतहव्यस्य ब्राह्मण्यप्राप्तिः
ब्रह्मबन्धुश्चिरं कालं॑ ततस्तु परिवर्तते । ततस्तु द्विशते काले लभते काण्डपृष्ठताम्
brahmabandhuś ciraṁ kālaṁ tataḥ tu parivartate | tataḥ tu dviśate kāle labhate kāṇḍapṛṣṭhatām ||
সেই সত্তা দীৰ্ঘকাল ‘ব্ৰহ্মবন্ধু’—নামমাত্ৰ ব্ৰাহ্মণ, আচাৰহীন—হৈ থাকে। তাৰ পাছত অৱস্থা পৰিৱৰ্তিত হ’লে দু’শ কাল অতিক্ৰম কৰাৰ পিছত সি ‘কাণ্ডপৃষ্ঠ’ অৱস্থা লাভ কৰে—অৰ্থাৎ অস্ত্ৰ-শস্ত্ৰে জীৱিকা চলোৱা ব্ৰাহ্মণৰ ঘৰত জন্ম গ্ৰহণ কৰে।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person who retains only the Brahmin label (brahmabandhu) but abandons Brahminical conduct accrues long-term karmic consequences; over time this decline manifests as a lower, weapon-dependent mode of life, indicating that livelihood and birth align with one’s sustained behavior rather than mere lineage.
Bhishma is describing the karmic trajectory of a degraded Brahmin: after remaining a brahmabandhu for a long period, his condition ‘turns’ and, after a stated span (two hundred time-units), he is said to be born among Brahmins who sustain themselves through arms and weapons—an illustrative step in a broader discussion of conduct and its results.