Shloka 32

Devanagari script

येन सर्वमिदं बुद्ध प्रकृतिर्विकृतिश्व या । गतिज्ञ: सर्वभूतानां त॑ देवा ब्राह्म॒णं विदु:,जिसको इस सम्पूर्ण जगत्‌की नश्वरताका ज्ञान है, जो प्रकृति और उसके विकारोंसे परिचित है तथा जिसे सम्पूर्ण भूतोंकी गतिका ज्ञान है, उसे देवतालोग ब्रह्मज्ञानी मानते हैं

Transliteration

yena sarvam idaṁ buddha prakṛtir vikṛtiś ca yā | gatijñaḥ sarvabhūtānāṁ taṁ devā brāhmaṇaṁ viduḥ ||

Translation

O wise one, the gods regard as a true knower of Brahman that person who understands the perishable nature of this entire world, who is acquainted with Prakṛti and its transformations, and who knows the courses and destinies of all beings.

Word by Word

येनby whom/with whom

सर्वम्all, entire

इदम्this

बुद्धO wise one

प्रकृतिःnature, primal state

विकृतिःmodification, change

चand

याwhich

गतिज्ञःknower of the course/destiny

सर्वभूतानाम्of all beings

तम्him

देवाःthe gods

ब्राह्मणम्a brahmana / knower of Brahman

विदुःknow, regard as

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kapila

deva (the gods)

sarva-bhūta (all beings)

prakṛti

vikṛti

brahman (as brahma-jñāna implied by brāhmaṇam)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A true 'brāhmaṇa' is defined by insight: knowing the impermanence of the world, understanding Prakṛti and its evolutes, and discerning the trajectories (gati) of beings. Spiritual authority is grounded in realization and discernment rather than external markers.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Kapila speaks as a teacher of liberating knowledge, describing the criteria by which the wise (even the gods) recognize a genuine knower of Brahman—one who comprehends nature, change, and the destinies of living beings.