Shloka 14
ब्राह्मण–क्षत्रिय-श्रेष्ठता-विवादः
Arjuna–Vāyu Dialogue on Brāhmaṇa and Kṣatriya Precedence
ब्राह्मण: क्षत्रियो वैश्य: शूद्रो वा यद्युपोषित:
brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyo vaiśyaḥ śūdro vā yadyupoṣitaḥ
Reṇukā sprach: «Ob jemand ein brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya oder śūdra ist—wenn er das Fasten mit gebührender Selbstzucht auf sich genommen hat—gilt die folgende Vorschrift gleichermaßen, ohne Unterschied der Geburt.»
रेणुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-rule as applicable across the four varṇas: ethical or ritual discipline (here, fasting) is not restricted to a single social group; the relevant obligation or result follows from the act of observance itself.
Renukā begins a statement that addresses all four social orders and sets a condition—‘if one is fasting/has fasted’—as the basis for the instruction that follows in the surrounding verses.