Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 59
Kāla (Right Time), Effort, and the Ethics of Giving — कालः, प्रयत्नः, दानधर्मश्च
एतत् ते गुह्माख्यातं यथा शूद्रो भवेद् द्विज: । ब्राह्मणो वा च्युतो धर्माद् यथा शूद्रत्वमाप्तुते
etat te guhyam ākhyātaṁ yathā śūdro bhaved dvijaḥ | brāhmaṇo vā cyuto dharmād yathā śūdratvam āpnute ||
महेश्वर ने कहा—यह रहस्य मैंने तुमसे कह दिया है कि किस प्रकार शूद्र द्विज हो सकता है, और किस प्रकार धर्म से च्युत ब्राह्मण शूद्रत्व को प्राप्त होता है।
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Varṇa-status is presented as ethically contingent: uplift is possible through right conduct and qualification, while decline follows from deviation from dharma. The verse frames this as a ‘secret’ principle—moral and spiritual behavior, not mere birth-pride, determines one’s standing.
Śrī Maheśvara, as the speaker, concludes or summarizes an instruction by stating that he has revealed a confidential doctrine explaining two movements: how a śūdra may rise to the status of a dvija, and how a brāhmaṇa who slips from dharma may fall into śūdratva.