Shloka 573

ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins

Devanagari script

वीतहव्यो महाराज ब्रह्म॒वादित्वमेव च । नरेश्वर! इस प्रकार राजा वीतहव्य भृूगुजीके कथनमात्रसे ब्रह्मर्षि एवं ब्रह्मवादी हो गये

Transliteration

Vītahavyo mahārāja brahmavāditvam eva ca.

Translation

भीष्म म्हणाले— “महाराज! नरेश्वर! अशा प्रकारे राजा वीतहव्य भृगुजींच्या वचनमात्राने ब्रह्मर्षी झाला आणि ब्रह्माचा उपदेश करणारा ब्रह्मवादीही झाला.”

Word by Word

• वीतहव्यः: Vītahavya (name of the king)
• वीतहव्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीतहव्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• ब्रह्मवादित्वम्: the state of being a brahma-vādin (expounder of Brahman/Veda)
• ब्रह्मवादित्वम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मवादित्व
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

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

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Vītahavya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Spiritual stature—being a Brahmarṣi and a teacher of Brahman—can be attained through genuine assimilation of sacred instruction and inner purification, rather than being limited by birth-status or prior identity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma summarizes the outcome of Vītahavya’s encounter with a sage’s instruction: the king undergoes a decisive spiritual elevation and is recognized as a Brahmarṣi and a brahmavādī (one who speaks authoritatively on Brahman).