Shloka 59
Kāla (Right Time), Effort, and the Ethics of Giving — कालः, प्रयत्नः, दानधर्मश्च
एतत् ते गुह्माख्यातं यथा शूद्रो भवेद् द्विज: । ब्राह्मणो वा च्युतो धर्माद् यथा शूद्रत्वमाप्तुते
etat te guhyam ākhyātaṁ yathā śūdro bhaved dvijaḥ | brāhmaṇo vā cyuto dharmād yathā śūdratvam āpnute ||
ಮಹೇಶ್ವರನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಈ ಗುಹ್ಯವನ್ನು ನಾನು ನಿನಗೆ ಪ್ರಕಟಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ: ಶೂದ್ರನು ಹೇಗೆ ದ್ವಿಜನಾಗಬಹುದು, ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಧರ್ಮದಿಂದ ಚ್ಯುತವಾದ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನು ಹೇಗೆ ಶೂದ್ರತ್ವವನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Varṇa-status is presented as ethically contingent: uplift is possible through right conduct and qualification, while decline follows from deviation from dharma. The verse frames this as a ‘secret’ principle—moral and spiritual behavior, not mere birth-pride, determines one’s standing.
Śrī Maheśvara, as the speaker, concludes or summarizes an instruction by stating that he has revealed a confidential doctrine explaining two movements: how a śūdra may rise to the status of a dvija, and how a brāhmaṇa who slips from dharma may fall into śūdratva.