Shloka 28
Indra–Mataṅga Saṃvāda: On the rarity and responsibilities of Brāhmaṇya (इन्द्र-मतङ्ग संवादः)
ब्राह्माण्यं प्रार्थयानस्त्वमप्राप्यमकृतात्मभि: । विनशिष्यसि दुर्बुद्धे तदुपारम माचिरम्
bhīṣma uvāca | brāhmaṇyaṁ prārthayānas tvam aprāpyam akṛtātmabhiḥ | vinaśiṣyasi durbuddhe tad upārama mā ciram ||
भीष्मजी बोले—“तुम ब्राह्मणत्व की याचना कर रहे हो, पर जिनका अन्तःकरण असंस्कृत और अशुद्ध है, उनके लिए वह अप्राप्य है। हे दुर्बुद्धे! ब्राह्मणत्व माँगते-माँगते तुम नष्ट हो जाओगे, फिर भी वह नहीं मिलेगा; इसलिए इस दुराग्रह को शीघ्र छोड़ दो।”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Brahminhood is presented as an ethical-spiritual qualification grounded in inner purity and self-cultivation, not something gained merely by asking or insisting; without refinement of character, the goal remains unattainable.
Bhishma admonishes a misguided seeker who is demanding or pleading for Brahmin status; he warns that such insistence, without inner transformation, leads only to ruin and urges immediate renunciation of the futile demand.