Shloka 17
युधिष्ठिरप्रश्नः—विश्वामित्रस्य ब्राह्मणत्वकौतूहलम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry on Viśvāmitra’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
किमेतदिति तत्त्वेन प्रब्रूहि भरतर्षभ । देहान्तरमनासाद्य कथं स ब्राह्मणो&भवत्,भरतश्रेष्ठ) यह क्या बात है? इसे ठीक-ठीक बताइये। विश्वामित्रजी दूसरा शरीर धारण किये बिना ही कैसे ब्राह्मण हो गये?
kim etad iti tattvena prabrūhi bharatarṣabha | dehāntaram anāsādya kathaṃ sa brāhmaṇo 'bhavat ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O bull among the Bharatas, tell me the truth of this matter precisely. Without taking on another body, how did he become a brāhmaṇa?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry into how spiritual status (brāhmaṇatva) can be attained without a change of physical body—pointing toward inner transformation through truth, austerity, and merit rather than mere birth or external form.
Yudhiṣṭhira asks an elder/teacher addressed as “bharatarṣabha” to explain, in exact truth, the account of someone (contextually Viśvāmitra) becoming a brāhmaṇa without assuming another body, seeking clarity on the principle behind such a transformation.