Shloka 6
Vītahavya’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya (Vītahavya–Vipratva) | वीतहव्यस्य ब्राह्मण्यप्राप्तिः
तिर्यग्योनिगत: सर्वो मानुष्यं यदि गच्छति । स जायते पुल्कसो वा चण्डालो वाप्यसंशय:
tiryagyoni-gataḥ sarvo mānuṣyaṃ yadi gacchati | sa jāyate pulkaso vā caṇḍālo vāpy asaṃśayaḥ ||
भीष्म ने कहा— जो कोई प्राणी पशु-पक्षियों की तिर्यक्-योनि में पड़ गया हो, यदि वह आगे चलकर मनुष्य-योनि को प्राप्त होता है, तो वह निःसंदेह पहले पुल्कस अथवा चाण्डाल के रूप में ही जन्म लेता है।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a karmic gradation of rebirth: transition from animal/bird existence to human birth is depicted as occurring first through a low and stigmatized human condition, emphasizing that prior actions shape the quality and social circumstances of one’s next embodiment.
Bhīṣma is instructing (in a dharma-teaching context) about consequences of conduct across births, stating a rule-like assertion about how beings move from non-human wombs to human birth, using Pulkaśa and Caṇḍāla as illustrative categories.