Shloka 6
Indra–Mataṅga Saṃvāda: On the rarity and responsibilities of Brāhmaṇya (इन्द्र-मतङ्ग संवादः)
बद्दीस्तु संसरन् योनीर्जायमान: पुन: पुनः । पर्याये तात कम्मिंश्रिद् ब्राह्मणो नाम जायते,तात! बहुत-सी योनियोंमें बारंबार जन्म लेते-लेते कभी किसी समय संसारी जीव ब्राह्मणकी योनिमें जन्म लेता है
baddhīs tu saṃsaran yonīr jāyamānaḥ punaḥ punaḥ | paryāye tāta karmāṃśrit brāhmaṇo nāma jāyate, tāta ||
Bhīṣma said: “Bound by worldly existence, a being wanders through many wombs, being born again and again. Then, at some turn of the cycle—dear child—depending on the karma it has accumulated, it comes to be born in what is called the state of a brāhmaṇa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Repeated births across many yonis are driven by saṃsāra, and a brāhmaṇa birth arises at a certain point due to karma; therefore, such a birth implies heightened obligation to live by dharma rather than pride in status.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he explains to his listener (addressed as 'tāta') how beings transmigrate and how, in the course of that cycle, one may be born as a brāhmaṇa depending on karmic causes.