Shloka 4
मृत्योर्ब्रह्मणा नियोजनम् — The Commissioning of Mṛtyu by Brahmā
इष्टीक्ष विविधा: प्राप्य क्रतूंश्वैवाप्तदक्षिणान् । प्राप्रोति नैव ब्राह्म॒ण्यमविधानात् कथंचन
iṣṭīkṣa vividhāḥ prāpya kratūṁś caivāptadakṣiṇān | prāpnoti naiva brāhmaṇyam avidhānāt kathaṁcana ||
Vyāsa said: Even after performing many kinds of sacrificial rites and completing great Vedic sacrifices endowed with the prescribed fees, one does not truly attain the state of being a brāhmaṇa in any way, if the proper inner discipline is absent—namely, the right method grounded in self-knowledge rather than mere ritual performance.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual accomplishment—even many sacrifices with generous dakṣiṇā—does not by itself confer true brāhmaṇa status; without the proper inner discipline and self-knowledge, brahminhood is not attained.
In a didactic passage of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa emphasizes a moral-spiritual criterion for brahminhood, contrasting external ritual success with the necessity of correct inner method (vidhi) rooted in knowledge.