Shloka 18
ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property
Brahmasva
अन्यस्मिज्जन्मनि विभो ज्ञानविज्ञानपारग: । अभवं तत्र जानानो होतान् दोषान् मदात् सदा
anyasmij janmani vibho jñānavijñānapāragaḥ | abhavaṁ tatra jānāno hotān doṣān madāt sadā ||
“हे प्रभो, दुसऱ्या जन्मी मी ज्ञान-विज्ञानात पारंगत झालो होतो. तरीही मदामुळे होणारे दोष जाणूनसुद्धा, अहंकार व मोहाने मी तिथे वारंवार तेच करीत राहिलो.”
चाण्डाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even high learning and discernment do not automatically prevent ethical failure; pride and intoxication (mada) can overpower knowledge. The verse stresses humility and self-restraint as necessary complements to wisdom.
The Chandala, speaking to a divine or exalted addressee (“vibho”), recounts a prior birth: despite being accomplished in knowledge and insight, he knowingly fell into repeated faults caused by mada, highlighting confession and moral reflection.