Shloka 2

ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property

Brahmasva

Devanagari script

युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--भरतश्रेष्ठ! जो मूर्ख और मंदबुद्धि मानव क्रूरतापूर्ण कर्ममें संलग्न रहकर ब्राह्मणोंके धनका अपहरण करते हैं, वे किस लोकमें जाते हैं? ।।

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | pātakānāṁ paraṁ hy etad brahmasvaharaṇaṁ balāt | sānvayās te vinaśyanti caṇḍālāḥ pretya ceha ca | atrāpy udāharantīmam itihāsaṁ purātanam | caṇḍālasya ca saṁvādaṁ kṣatrabandhoś ca bhārata |

Translation

भीष्म म्हणाले— राजन्! ब्राह्मणाचे धन बळजबरीने हरण करणे हे पातकांमध्ये परम पातक मानले जाते. जे चांडाळ-स्वभावाचे मनुष्य ब्राह्मणाचे धन लुटतात, ते आपल्या कुल-परिवारासह या लोकातही आणि परलोकातही नष्ट होतात. याच विषयात ज्ञानी लोक एक प्राचीन आख्यायिका सांगतात—हे भारत! चांडाळ आणि ‘क्षत्रिय-बंधु’ यांचा संवाद।

Word by Word

• पातकानाम्: of sins
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• परम्: highest, supreme
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• एतत्: this
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• ब्रह्मस्वहरणम्: theft/abduction of brahmin-property
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मस्व-हरण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• बलात्: by force
• बलात्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• सान्वयाः: together with their lineage/family
• सान्वयाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-अन्वय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• विनश्यन्ति: perish, are destroyed
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• चण्डालाः: outcastes (chandalas)
• चण्डालाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चण्डाल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रेत्य: having died; after death
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्र-इ
• Form: Absolutive (ktvā/lyap)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• इह: here (in this world)
• इह: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह

• च: also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

भीष्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Yudhishthira
• Bharata (epithet/address)
• Brahmin (as a social-religious category)
• Chandala
• Kṣatrabandhu

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Forcibly taking a Brahmin’s wealth (brahmasva-haraṇa) is declared a supreme transgression, bringing ruin not only to the perpetrator but also to their lineage, with consequences both in this life and after death.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhishthira asks Bhishma about the fate of cruel, foolish people who seize Brahmin wealth. Bhishma answers by condemning the act as the greatest sin and introduces an ancient illustrative story—a dialogue between a Chandala and a kshatriya-in-name-only—to reinforce the moral point.