Shloka 2
मृत्योर्ब्रह्मणा नियोजनम् — The Commissioning of Mṛtyu by Brahmā
सर्वान् वेदानधीयीत शुदश्रूषुर्ब्रह्मचर्यवान् । ऋचो यजूंसि सामानि न तेन न स वै द्विज:
sarvān vedān adhīyīta śuśrūṣur brahmacaryavān | ṛco yajūṃṣi sāmāni na tena na sa vai dvijaḥ ||
Vyāsa dit : «Quand bien même un homme étudierait tous les Veda, demeurerait au service de son maître et observerait le vœu de brahmacarya—maîtrisant les hymnes Ṛk, Yajus et Sāman—cela seul ne fait pas de lui un véritable “deux-fois-né” au sens plein. Le vers dépasse l’érudition et la discipline : la vraie qualité de brāhmaṇa requiert une réalisation intérieure et une conduite juste, non la seule maîtrise des textes.»
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Textual mastery of the Vedas, service to the teacher, and strict student-discipline are valuable, but they are not sufficient by themselves to constitute true dvija-hood; the verse implies that inner virtue and lived dharma must complete learning.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa states a criterion about what does—and does not—make someone truly ‘twice-born,’ using Vedic study and brahmacarya as examples to show the limits of mere formal qualifications.