Shloka 47
Prāyaścitta-vidhāna: Tapas, Dāna, Vrata, and Proportional Expiation (प्रायश्चित्तविधानम्)
यथा षण्ढो5फल: स्त्रीषु यथा गौर्गवि चाफला । शकुनिर्वाप्यपक्ष: स्यान्निर्मन्त्रो ब्राह्मणस्तथा
yathā ṣaṇḍho’phalaḥ strīṣu yathā gaur gavi cāphalā | śakunir vāpy apakṣaḥ syān nirmantro brāhmaṇas tathā ||
De même que l’eunuque est stérile parmi les femmes, que la vache unie à une vache ne donne point de veau, et que l’oiseau sans ailes ne peut voler, de même le brāhmaṇa privé de la connaissance des mantras védiques devient sans effet : son rang n’est plus qu’une enveloppe, un nom sans la qualification intérieure qui le fonde.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a role is meaningful only when supported by its defining competence: a brāhmaṇa’s purpose is tied to Vedic mantra-knowledge and practice; without it, the title becomes functionally empty—like other things lacking the capacity that makes them effective.
In the didactic flow of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa delivers a moral instruction using vivid analogies to stress that true worth in dharma depends on inner qualification and disciplined learning, not on external designation alone.