Shloka 143
Kāla (Right Time), Effort, and the Ethics of Giving — कालः, प्रयत्नः, दानधर्मश्च
गिरिराजकुमारी! शूद्र धर्माचरण करनेसे जिस प्रकार ब्राह्मणत्वको प्राप्त करता है तथा ब्राह्मण स्वधर्मका त्याग करके जातिसे भ्रष्ट होकर जिस प्रकार शूद्र हो जाता है, यह गूढ़ रहस्यकी बात मैंने तुम्हें बतला दी ।। इति श्रीमहाभारते अनुशासनपर्वणि दानधर्मपर्वणि उमामहेश्व॒रसंवादे त्रिचत्वारिंशदधिकशततमो< ध्याय:,इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाा भारत अनुशासनपर्वके अन्तर्गत दानधर्मपर्वमें उमामहेश्वरसंवादाविषयक एक सौ तैंतालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
Girirājakumārī! śūdra dharmācaraṇa karanese jis prakāra brāhmaṇatva ko prāpta kartā hai tathā brāhmaṇa svadharma kā tyāga karke jāti se bhraṣṭa hokar jis prakāra śūdra ho jātā hai, yah gūḍha rahasya kī bāt maine tumheṁ batalā dī. Iti śrīmahābhārate anuśāsanaparvaṇi dānadharmaparvaṇi umāmaheśvarasaṁvāde tricatvāriṁśad-adhika-śatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ.
Maheshvara said: “O daughter of the king of mountains! I have disclosed to you this profound secret: how a Shudra, by practicing dharma, may attain the status of a Brahmin; and how a Brahmin, by abandoning his own prescribed duty, becomes fallen from his caste and comes to be regarded as a Shudra.” Thus ends, in the Mahabharata, in the Anushasana Parva, within the section on the dharma of gifts, the dialogue of Uma and Maheshvara—Chapter 143.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral and religious status is tied to conduct: diligent observance of dharma can elevate a person, while abandoning one’s prescribed duty (svadharma) leads to degradation and loss of standing. The verse frames varṇa not merely as birth-identity but as ethically contingent upon behavior and fidelity to duty.
In the Umā–Maheśvara dialogue, Śiva addresses Umā (Pārvatī) and concludes a teaching by revealing a “profound secret” about how adherence to dharma elevates and how neglect of svadharma causes downfall. The remainder is the colophon marking the end of the chapter within Anuśāsana Parva’s Dānadharma section.