Shloka 55
उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel
शूद्रो<हमभवं पूर्व तापसो भृशसंयुतः । ऋषिरुग्रतपास्त्वं च तदाभूद् द्विजसत्तम,विप्रवर! पहले जन्ममें मैं शूद्र था। फिर बड़ा भारी तपस्वी हो गया। उन्हीं दिनों आप उग्र तप करनेवाले श्रेष्ठ महर्षि थे
śūdro ’ham abhavaṃ pūrvaṃ tāpaso bhṛśa-saṃyutaḥ | ṛṣir ugra-tapās tvaṃ ca tadābhūd dvija-sattama ||
婆羅門の中の最勝者よ、前世において私はシュードラであった。のちに厳しい苦行者となり、強い自制を備えた。そしてあなたは—二度生まれし者の最勝—その時、激烈なる苦行を修する聖仙であった。
पुरोहित उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes moral and spiritual development across lives: birth-status is not the final measure of worth, and intense discipline (tapas) and self-restraint can elevate one’s spiritual standing; likewise, true excellence is linked to austerity and conduct.
The priest-speaker recounts a prior-life memory: he was once a Śūdra who later became a powerful ascetic, while the person addressed (honored as ‘best among the twice-born’) was then a great sage practicing fierce austerities—setting a karmic and ethical background for the ongoing discourse.