Mahabharata 3.201.19 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 19
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
ये ये श्राद्धे न युज्यन्ते मूकान्धवधिरादय: । तेडपि सर्वे नियोक्तव्या मिश्रिता वेदपारगै:
ye ye śrāddhe na yujyante mūkāndha-vadhirādayaḥ | teḍ api sarve niyoktavyā miśritā vedapāragaiḥ ||
Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: „Jene Brahmanen, die als ungeeignet für die Mitwirkung an einer śrāddha gelten—wie der Stumme, der Blinde, der Taube und andere—können dennoch alle einbezogen werden, sofern sie zusammen mit Brahmanen, die in den Veden bewandert sind, gesetzt und beteiligt werden.“
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when certain persons are traditionally listed as ineligible for direct appointment in śrāddha, they need not be wholly excluded; they may be included when associated with Veda-proficient Brahmins, balancing ritual norms with humane inclusion.
Mārkaṇḍeya is instructing about proper conduct in śrāddha rites, clarifying how to treat categories of Brahmins sometimes said to be ‘not to be engaged’—allowing their participation when joined with learned officiants.
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