Shloka 37
नारद–असित (देवल) संवादः — भूतप्रभवाप्यय, इन्द्रिय-गुण-विवेक, क्षेत्रज्ञ-तत्त्व
ऋचो यजूंषि सामानि स्तोभाश्व विधिचोदिता: । यस्मिन्नेतानि सर्वाणि भवन्तीह स वै द्विज:
ṛco yajūṃṣi sāmāni stobhāś ca vidhicoditāḥ | yasminn etāni sarvāṇi bhavantīha sa vai dvijaḥ ||
Kapila said: “The Ṛk-verses, the Yajus-formulas, the Sāman-chants, and the liturgical stobhas prescribed by rule—one in whom all these are truly present here is the one who is rightly entitled to be called a ‘twice-born’ in this world.”
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines legitimate ‘dvija’ status not merely by birth-label but by the actual presence of Vedic competence—knowledge and proper ritual-chanting tradition (Ṛk, Yajus, Sāman, and prescribed stobhas). It emphasizes qualification through learning and disciplined practice.
In the Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Kapila is teaching a criterion for religious and social-spiritual authority: the person who truly embodies the Vedas and their regulated liturgical application is the one who deserves the title ‘dvija’ in the world.