Shloka 111

Devanagari script

चतुर्वेदो<पि दुर्वत्त: स शूद्रादतिरिच्यते । योडग्निहोत्रपरो दान्तः स ब्राह्मण इति स्मृत:

Transliteration

caturvedo 'pi durvṛttaḥ sa śūdrād atiricyate | yo 'gnīhotraparo dāntaḥ sa brāhmaṇa iti smṛtaḥ ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Even one who has mastered the four Vedas, if his conduct is corrupt, is reckoned no better than a Śūdra. But the one who is devoted to the Agnihotra, self-restrained, and disciplined—he is remembered as a true Brāhmaṇa.”

Word by Word

चतुर्वेदःone who knows the four Vedas / the four-Veda-knower

अपिeven, also

दुर्वृत्तःof bad conduct, ill-behaved

सःhe

शूद्रात्from a Śūdra

अतिरिच्यतेis superior/exceeds

यःwho

अग्निहोत्रपरःdevoted to the Agnihotra rite

दान्तःself-controlled

सःhe

ब्राह्मणःa Brahmin

इतिthus

स्मृतःis considered/remembered (as)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Caturveda (the four Vedas)

Śūdra

Agnihotra

Brāhmaṇa

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?

The verse prioritizes character and disciplined practice over mere scriptural learning: Vedic mastery without good conduct is spiritually hollow, while devotion to duty (Agnihotra) and self-restraint mark one as truly ‘Brāhmaṇa’ in the ethical sense.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Vana Parva’s dharma-discussions, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a criterion for religious and social worth: he contrasts a learned but immoral person with a disciplined practitioner, emphasizing that dharma is measured by conduct and restraint.