Shloka 9
Adhyāya 122 — Śruta-vṛtta-yukta Brāhmaṇa and the Ethics of Dāna
Maitreya–Vyāsa Saṃvāda
सम्भूत: क्षत्रियकुले प्रसादादमितौजस:
sambhūtaḥ kṣatriyakule prasādād amitaujasaḥ | śvapākaśūdravaiśyānāṃ kṣatriyāṇāṃ ca yoniṣu ||
Vyāsa said: “By the grace of the mighty one, he was born in a Kṣatriya family. After that, he passed successively through births among the outcaste (śvapāka), Śūdra, Vaiśya, and also Kṣatriya wombs. Having wandered through many forms of existence, he finally attained birth again among the Kṣatriyas through the favor of the illustrious Vyāsa, and then went to see those great sages.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores karmic continuity across births and the possibility of uplift through merit and grace (prasāda). Social status and embodiment are shown as outcomes within a larger moral-causal order, not as permanent or absolute identities.
Vyāsa describes a being who, after moving through multiple births in various social categories (including outcaste, Śūdra, Vaiśya, and Kṣatriya), finally attains birth in a Kṣatriya family by grace and then approaches great sages for darśana (audience/vision).