Shloka 13
Adhyāya 189: Japa—Inquiry into the Jāpaka, Method
Vidhi), and Fruit (Phala
हिंसानृतप्रिया लुब्धा: सर्वकर्मोपजीविन: । कृष्णा: शौचपरिभ्रष्टास्ते द्विजा: शूद्रतां गता:
hiṃsānṛtapriyā lubdhāḥ sarvakarmopajīvinaḥ | kṛṣṇāḥ śaucaparibhraṣṭās te dvijāḥ śūdratāṃ gatāḥ ||
Dijo Bharadvāja: Aquellos nacidos dos veces que, apartándose de la pureza y de la buena conducta, se aficionaron a la violencia y a la mentira, y que—por codicia—se ganaron la vida con toda clase de oficios censurables, quedaron “oscurecidos” (manchados en lo moral) y así descendieron a la condición de śūdras.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Status as ‘twice-born’ is upheld by śauca (purity) and ācāra (right conduct). When one embraces violence, falsehood, greed, and censured livelihoods, one undergoes moral and social degradation—described here as falling into śūdratā.
In a didactic passage of the Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja explains how deviation from ethical discipline causes the decline of dvijas, portraying their fall through traits like hiṃsā, anṛta, and indiscriminate blameworthy work, culminating in the notion of becoming śūdra-like.