Shloka 134
The Marks of Merit and the Destinies of Beings
Divine vs Demonic Traits
विश्वासघातिनो ये च कृतघ्ना व्रतलोपिनः । द्विजदेवेषु विद्विष्टाः शातयंति धरां नराः
viśvāsaghātino ye ca kṛtaghnā vratalopinaḥ | dvijadeveṣu vidviṣṭāḥ śātayaṃti dharāṃ narāḥ
Those men who betray trust, who are ungrateful, who violate their vows, and who are hostile toward brāhmaṇas and the devas—such people bring ruin upon the earth.
Unspecified (context-dependent narrator/speaker within Adhyaya 76)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: city
Sandhi Resolution Notes: द्विजदेवेषु = द्विजदेवेषु (द्वन्द्वसमास); शातयंति (पाठभेद) = शातयन्ति; पद्ये ‘विश्वासघातिनो’ इति पाठः = विश्वासघातिनः (प्रथमा बहुवचन)
FAQs
It warns that betraying trust, showing ingratitude, breaking vows, and hating sacred social and divine principles (Brahmins and the gods) leads to collective harm—symbolized as the ruin of the earth.
Dvija literally means “twice-born,” commonly referring to Brahmins (and, in broader dharma literature, the three higher varṇas after initiation). Here it functions as a marker of religious and ethical authority within the dharmic order.
It frames dharma as social and spiritual responsibility: personal moral failures (betrayal, ingratitude, vow-breaking) are portrayed as destabilizing forces that damage society and the world (dharā).