Shloka 1
Jāpakānāṃ Gatiḥ — The Destinies of Japa-Practitioners (Śānti Parva 12.190)
अपन बक। है २ >> एकोननवर्त्याधेकशततमो< ध्याय: चारों वर्णगोके अलग-अलग कर्मोका और सदाचारका वर्णन तथा वैराग्यसे परब्रह्म॒की प्राप्ति भरद्वाज उवाच ब्राह्मण: केन भवति क्षत्रियो वा द्विजोत्तम | वैश्य: शूद्रश्न विप्र्षे तद् ब्रूहि वदतां वर,भरद्वाजने पूछा--वक्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ ब्रह्मर्षे! द्विजोत्तम! अब मुझे यह बताइये कि मनुष्य कौन-सा कर्म करनेसे ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय, वैश्य अथवा शूद्र होता है?
Bharadvāja uvāca:
Brāhmaṇaḥ kena bhavati kṣatriyo vā dvijottama |
Vaiśyaḥ śūdraś ca viprarṣe tad brūhi vadatāṃ vara ||
Bharadvāja said: “O best of the twice-born, O brahmarṣi—foremost among speakers—tell me this: by what does a person become a brāhmaṇa, or a kṣatriya? By what does one become a vaiśya or a śūdra? Explain it to me.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: varṇa identity is being examined in terms of its determining basis—what qualities, conduct, and actions make one a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, or śūdra—setting up an ethical discussion that emphasizes lived dharma over mere labels.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, the sage Bharadvāja respectfully questions a senior brāhmaṇa-seer, asking for a clear criterion by which people are classified into the four varṇas, initiating a discourse on duties, right conduct, and the path that culminates in higher realization.