Shloka 1
ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property
Brahmasva
/ एकाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: ब्राह्मणोंके धनका अपहरण करनेसे प्राप्त होनेवाले दोषके विषयमें क्षत्रिय और चाण्डालका संवाद तथा ब्रह्मास्वकी रक्षामें प्राणोत्सर्ग करनेसे चाण्डालको मोक्षकी प्राप्ति युधिछिर उवाच ब्राह्मणस्वानि ये मंदा हरन्ति भरतर्षभ । नृशंसकारिणो मूढा: क्व ते गच्छन्ति मानवा:
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: brāhmaṇasvāni ye mandā haranti bharatarṣabha | nṛśaṃsakāriṇo mūḍhāḥ kva te gacchanti mānavāḥ ||
ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠಿರನು ಹೇಳಿದನು— ಓ ಭರತಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠನೇ! ನೀಚರು, ಮೋಹಗ್ರಸ್ತರು, ಕ್ರೂರಕರ್ಮಿಗಳು ಆಗಿರುವವರು ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನ ಧನವನ್ನು ಕಸಿದುಕೊಂಡರೆ ಅವರು ಯಾವ ಲೋಕಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾರೆ?
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames theft of a brāhmaṇa’s property as a grave ethical violation, emphasizing that such cruelty and delusion lead to a dire karmic outcome; it sets up a discussion on the moral and spiritual consequences of violating protected dharmic boundaries.
Yudhiṣṭhira opens the chapter by asking an elder (addressed as ‘bharatarṣabha’) about the post-mortem fate of people who steal brāhmaṇa property, introducing the chapter’s theme that will be illustrated through a dialogue (as indicated by the chapter heading in the provided text).