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 ||
সে দীর্ঘকাল ‘ব্রহ্মবন্ধু’—নামমাত্র ব্রাহ্মণ, আচরণহীন—হয়ে থাকে। পরে অবস্থার পরিবর্তনে দুই শত কাল অতিক্রান্ত হলে সে ‘কাণ্ডপৃষ্ঠ’ অবস্থা লাভ করে—অর্থাৎ অস্ত্র-শস্ত্রে জীবিকা নির্বাহকারী ব্রাহ্মণদের ঘরে জন্ম গ্রহণ করে।
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.