Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 17
Śrāddhadeva Manu’s Sons: Pṛṣadhra’s Curse and Renunciation; Genealogies of Nariṣyanta and Diṣṭa
धृष्टाद् धार्ष्टमभूत् क्षत्रं ब्रह्मभूयं गतं क्षितौ । नृगस्य वंश: सुमतिर्भूतज्योतिस्ततो वसु: ॥ १७ ॥
dhṛṣṭād dhārṣṭam abhūt kṣatraṁ brahma-bhūyaṁ gataṁ kṣitau nṛgasya vaṁśaḥ sumatir bhūtajyotis tato vasuḥ
De Dhṛṣṭa, hijo de Manu, surgió un linaje kṣatriya llamado Dhārṣṭa, cuyos miembros en este mundo alcanzaron la condición de brāhmaṇas. Luego, de Nṛga nació Sumati; de Sumati, Bhūtajyoti; y de Bhūtajyoti, Vasu.
Here it is said, kṣatraṁ brahma-bhūyaṁ gataṁ kṣitau: although the Dhārṣṭas belonged to the kṣatriya caste, they were able to convert themselves into brāhmaṇas. This gives clear evidence supporting the following statement by Nārada ( Bhāg. 7.11.35 ):
FAQs
This verse notes that the royal (kṣatriya) line descending from Dhṛṣṭa—through Dhārṣṭa—later attained brāhmaṇa status, showing that one’s social designation can be linked to qualities and function, not merely birth.
He is narrating the solar and related dynastic successions to Mahārāja Parīkṣit, preserving sacred genealogies that connect later kings and events to earlier divine arrangements and dharmic history.
Focus on cultivating brāhmaṇical virtues—truthfulness, self-control, learning, and devotion—rather than clinging to labels; spiritual and ethical refinement is presented as the real basis of honor and identity.