Shloka 22
भिक्षुलक्षणम्—एकचर्याः, अहिंसा, कैवल्याश्रमः
Marks of the Mendicant: Solitary Wandering, Non-Injury, and the Kaivalya-Discipline
ब्रह्माज्ञानप्रतिष्ठं हि त॑ देवा ब्राह्मणं विदु: । शब्दब्रह्मणि निष्णातं परे च कृतनिश्चयम्
brahmajñānapratiṣṭhaṃ hi taṃ devā brāhmaṇaṃ viduḥ | śabdabrahmaṇi niṣṇātaṃ pare ca kṛtaniścayam ||
जो ब्रह्मज्ञान में दृढ़ प्रतिष्ठित है, वे देवता उसी को ब्राह्मण मानते हैं—जो शब्दब्रह्म (वेद) में निष्णात हो और परब्रह्म में भी निश्चय को प्राप्त हो।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A true brāhmaṇa is defined by inner grounding in Brahman-knowledge and by competence in śabdabrahma (Vedic revelation), together with firm conviction in the Supreme—uniting learning with realized certainty.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa states a criterion for brahminhood: the gods themselves acknowledge as a brāhmaṇa the person who combines deep Vedic mastery with settled realization of the highest truth.