Shloka 12
Vītahavya’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya (Vītahavya–Vipratva) | वीतहव्यस्य ब्राह्मण्यप्राप्तिः
काण्डपृष्ठिश्चिरं काल॑ तत्रैव परिवर्तते । ततस्तु त्रिशते काले लभते जपतामपि
Bhīṣma uvāca | kāṇḍapṛṣṭhiś ciraṃ kālaṃ tatraiva parivartate | tatas tu triśate kāle labhate japatām api |
Walau telah menjadi ‘kāṇḍapṛṣṭha’, ia masih lama berputar di sana juga, dalam keadaan kelahiran yang sama. Kemudian setelah tiga ratus masa berlalu, ia terlahir di rumah seorang Brahmana yang melakukan japa—meski hanya japa Gāyatrī semata.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores karmic continuity and gradual uplift: after prolonged suffering in a lower birth, merit associated with sacred recitation (japa), even minimal such as Gāyatrī-japa, becomes a cause for obtaining a higher human birth in a Brahmin household.
Bhishma describes a being remaining for a very long time in the same womb/state, and after three hundred years passing, gaining rebirth connected with a Brahmin who practices japa—framed as a transition from a degraded condition toward a more dharmic human context.