Shloka 9
Adhyāya 189: Japa—Inquiry into the Jāpaka, Method
Vidhi), and Fruit (Phala
जड़मानामसंख्येया: स्थावराणां च जातय: । तेषां विविधवर्णानां कुतो वर्णविनिश्चय:
jaḍamānām asaṅkhyeyāḥ sthāvarāṇāṃ ca jātayaḥ | teṣāṃ vividhavarṇānāṃ kuto varṇaviniścayaḥ ||
Bharadvāja dit : « Les espèces des êtres mobiles—bêtes, oiseaux, hommes—et celles des êtres immobiles, tels les arbres, sont innombrables. Leurs couleurs sont multiples ; comment, dès lors, arrêter une détermination fixe du “varṇa” sur ce seul fondement ? »
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bharadvāja challenges the idea that varna can be decisively determined by outward features such as color or visible form, pointing out that nature displays innumerable kinds and appearances; therefore external traits are an unreliable basis for rigid social classification.
In a reflective dialogue in the Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja raises a probing question about how one could fix ‘varna’ when living beings—especially the vast range of creatures and stationary life—show endless diversity in species and coloration.