Shloka 25
Karma, Preta-gati, and the Continuity of Phala
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Instruction
युधिछिर उवाच शूद्रे तु यद् भवेल्लक्ष्म द्विजे तच्च न विद्यते । न वै शूद्रो भवेच्छूद्रो ब्राह्मणो न च ब्राह्मण:,युधिष्ठिरने कहा--यदि शूद्रमें सत्य आदि उपर्युक्त लक्षण हैं और ब्राह्मणमें नहीं हैं तो वह शूद्र शूद्र नहीं है और वह ब्राह्मण ब्राह्मण नहीं है। सर्प! जिसमें ये सत्य आदि लक्षण मौजूद हों, वह ब्राह्मण माना गया है और जिसमें इन लक्षणोंका अभाव हो, उसे शूद्र कहना चाहिये
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | śūdre tu yad bhavel lakṣma dvije tac ca na vidyate | na vai śūdro bhavec chūdro brāhmaṇo na ca brāhmaṇaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “If the marks (of virtue) are found in a Śūdra but are not found in a twice-born man, then that Śūdra is not truly a Śūdra, and that Brahmin is not truly a Brahmin. One should recognize as a Brahmin the person in whom such qualities as truthfulness are present; and one should call a person a Śūdra when those qualities are absent.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Social labels like ‘Brahmin’ and ‘Śūdra’ are not validated merely by birth or external status; they are validated by inner qualities (lakṣaṇa) such as truthfulness and ethical conduct. Where virtues are present, one should recognize higher dharmic standing; where they are absent, the label loses its meaning.
In Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira is engaged in a dharma-discussion (addressing a serpent/Nāga in this episode). He argues that true identity in the varṇa framework should be judged by observable moral characteristics rather than by nominal or hereditary designation.