Shloka 23
भिक्षुलक्षणम्—एकचर्याः, अहिंसा, कैवल्याश्रमः
Marks of the Mendicant: Solitary Wandering, Non-Injury, and the Kaivalya-Discipline
जो शब्दब्रह्म (वेद) में पारंगत होकर परब्रह्मके तत्त्वका निश्चय कर चुका है और सदा ब्रह्मज्ञानमें ही स्थित रहता है, उसे ही देवतालोग ब्राह्मण मानते हैं ।। अन्तःस्थं च बहिछं च साधियज्ञाधिदैवतम् । ज्ञानान्विता हि पश्यन्ति ते देवास्तात ते द्विजा:
antaḥsthaṃ ca bahiṣṭhaṃ ca sādhiyajñādhidaivatam | jñānānvitā hi paśyanti te devās tāta te dvijāḥ ||
Dijo Vyāsa: «Los dotados de conocimiento verdadero contemplan lo Divino por dentro y por fuera, junto con la deidad que preside el sacrificio. Ésos, hijo mío, son los “dos veces nacidos” a quienes incluso los dioses reconocen como brāhmaṇas reales.»
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
True brāhmaṇahood is defined by realized knowledge: the wise directly perceive the Divine both within the self and in the external world, including the divine principle presiding over sacrifice. Recognition by the gods is tied to insight and steadiness in brahmajñāna, not merely to ritual performance or birth.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and spiritual excellence, Vyāsa explains to the listener (addressed as ‘tāta’) the marks of a genuine brāhmaṇa: one who, through knowledge, sees the indwelling and outward presence of the sacred and understands the deeper divine basis of yajña.