Shloka 23
देवतापितृप्रश्नः — Nārada at Badarīāśrama: the ultimate referent of daiva and pitṛ worship
बेटा! जीव अनेक प्रकारके शरीरोंमें जन्मता-मरता हुआ कभी इस मानव- योनिमें आकर ब्राह्मणका शरीर पाता है, अतः तुम ब्राह्मणोचित कर्तव्यका पालन करो ।। ब्राह्मणस्य तु देहो5यं न कामार्थाय जायते । इह क्लेशाय तपसे प्रेत्य त्वनुपमं सुखम्,ब्राह्मणका यह शरीर भोग भोगनेके लिये नहीं पैदा होता है। यह तो यहाँ क्लेश उठाकर तपस्या करने और मृत्युके पश्चात् अनुपम सुख भोगनेके लिये रचा गया है
vyāsa uvāca | brāhmaṇasya tu deho 'yaṃ na kāmārthāya jāyate | iha kleśāya tapase pretya tv anupamaṃ sukham ||
Vyāsa said: “My son, the living being is born and dies through many kinds of bodies; only sometimes does it reach the human state and obtain the body of a brāhmaṇa. Therefore, live according to the duties proper to a brāhmaṇa. For this brāhmaṇa body is not born for the pursuit of pleasure and desire; it is fashioned for austerity and disciplined effort here—enduring hardship for the sake of tapas—and, after death, for the attainment of incomparable happiness.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the rare attainment of a brāhmaṇa body is meant for dharma and tapas, not for indulgence in kāma; disciplined hardship in this life is presented as the means to attain unsurpassed happiness after death.
Vyāsa addresses his listener as “son,” exhorting him to follow brāhmaṇa-appropriate duties and explaining the purpose of such a birth: austerity and ethical restraint now, leading to superior post-mortem well-being.