Shloka 38

द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय १६२: प्रातःसंध्यायां युद्धप्रवृत्तिः तथा रजोमेघे संमूढता

Devanagari script

यो हि ब्राह्नमण्यमुस्तृज्य क्षत्रधर्मरतो द्विज:

Transliteration

yo hi brāhmaṇyam utsṛjya kṣatradharmarato dvijaḥ

Translation

ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಯಾವ ದ್ವಿಜನು ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣೋಚಿತ ಆಚಾರ-ವೃತ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿ ಕ್ಷತ್ರಿಯಧರ್ಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸಕ್ತನಾಗುತ್ತಾನೋ…

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• ब्राह्मण्यम्: brahminhood; brahminical conduct/quality
• ब्राह्मण्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उत्सृज्य: having abandoned/renounced
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत् + सृज् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप् (क्त्वा-प्रत्ययार्थक अव्यय-भाव), कर्तरि, having abandoned

• क्षत्रधर्मरतः: devoted to the kshatriya duty
• क्षत्रधर्मरतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षत्रधर्म + रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• द्विजः: a twice-born (brahmin)
• द्विजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• dvija (twice-born person)
• brāhmaṇa (as a social-religious role)
• kṣatriya (as a social-warrior role)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical problem: when a dvija (especially a brāhmaṇa) abandons brāhmaṇya (brahminical discipline and duties) and takes up kṣatriya-dharma, it signals a departure from svadharma. In the Mahābhārata’s moral universe, such role-switching is not merely social but deeply ethical, affecting restraint, legitimacy, and the right use of force.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing or evaluating a figure characterized as a dvija who has set aside brāhmaṇya and is absorbed in kṣatriya conduct. In the Drona Parva’s war setting, this highlights the tension between inherited/spiritual vocation and battlefield action, preparing the listener to judge ensuing deeds through the lens of dharma.