Shloka 6

रसातल-वर्णनम्

Rasātala Description: Surabhi, Phenapāḥ, and the Directional Cows

Devanagari script

कर्मणा क्षत्रियाश्रैते निर्धणा भोगिभोजिन: । ज्ञातिसंक्षयकर्तत्वाद ब्राह्मुण्यं न लभन्ति वै

Transliteration

karmaṇā kṣatriyāśraite nirdhaṇā bhogibhojinaḥ | jñātisaṃkṣayakartṛtvād brāhmaṇyaṃ na labhanti vai ||

Translation

नारद बोले—ब्राह्मणकुल में जन्म लेकर भी वे कर्म से क्षत्रिय-स्वभाव वाले हैं। वे निर्दय हैं और सर्पों को ही अपना आहार बनाते हैं। अपने ही ज्ञाति-बन्धुओं का संहार करने के कारण उन्हें ब्राह्मणत्व प्राप्त नहीं होता।

Word by Word

• {'karmaṇā': 'by action, through conduct', 'kṣatriya-āśraite': 'having resorted to / assumed the kṣatriya way (kṣatriya-like disposition)', 'nirdhaṇāḥ': 'without compassion/mercy (lit. ‘without tenderness’

• contextually ‘hard-hearted’)', 'bhogi-bhojinaḥ': 'eaters of serpents (bhogin = serpent

• bhojin = eater/consumer)', 'jñāti': 'kinsman, relative, one’s own people', 'saṃkṣaya': 'destruction, ruin, extermination', 'kartṛtvāt': 'because of being the doers/agents (of that act)', 'brāhmaṇyam': 'brāhmaṇa-hood

• the ethical-spiritual status/qualities of a brāhmaṇa', 'na labhanti': 'do not obtain, do not attain', 'vai': 'indeed, certainly (emphatic particle)'}

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• brāhmaṇa (class/lineage)
• kṣatriya (class/ethos)
• serpents (nāga/bhogin)
• kinsmen/relatives (jñāti)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Lineage alone does not confer brāhmaṇa status; ethical qualities—especially compassion and non-violence toward one’s own kin—are decisive. Actions that mirror kṣatriya-like harshness and kin-destruction negate the claim to brāhmaṇya.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada characterizes a group as brāhmaṇa-born but behaviorally kṣatriya-like: they lack mercy, subsist on eating serpents, and cause the destruction of their own relatives; therefore, he declares they do not attain true brāhmaṇa-hood.