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

ສັນຊະຍະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ເພາະດວິຊະ (ຜູ້ເກີດສອງຄັ້ງ) ຜູ້ໃດທີ່ລະທິ້ງຈັນຍາແລະວິຖີຊີວິດອັນຄວນແກ່ພຣາຫມັນ ແລ້ວຫັນໄປຍຶດໝັ້ນໃນໜ້າທີ່ຂອງກະສັດຕຣິຍະ…»

Word by Word

यःwho

हिindeed/for

ब्राह्मण्यम्brahminhood; brahminical conduct/quality

उत्सृज्यhaving abandoned/renounced

क्षत्रधर्मरतःdevoted to the kshatriya duty

द्विजःa twice-born (brahmin)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

dvija (twice-born person)

brāhmaṇa (as a social-religious role)

kṣatriya (as a social-warrior role)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

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.