Shloka 9
Adhyāya 189: Japa—Inquiry into the Jāpaka, Method
Vidhi), and Fruit (Phala
जड़मानामसंख्येया: स्थावराणां च जातय: । तेषां विविधवर्णानां कुतो वर्णविनिश्चय:
jaḍamānām asaṅkhyeyāḥ sthāvarāṇāṃ ca jātayaḥ | teṣāṃ vividhavarṇānāṃ kuto varṇaviniścayaḥ ||
भरद्वाज म्हणाले— पशु, पक्षी, मनुष्य इत्यादी जंगम प्राणी आणि वृक्षादी स्थावर जीव यांच्या जाती असंख्य आहेत. त्यांच्या रंगांतही वैविध्य आहे; मग वर्णाचा निश्चय कसा होईल?
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bharadvāja challenges the idea that varna can be decisively determined by outward features such as color or visible form, pointing out that nature displays innumerable kinds and appearances; therefore external traits are an unreliable basis for rigid social classification.
In a reflective dialogue in the Śānti Parva, Bharadvāja raises a probing question about how one could fix ‘varna’ when living beings—especially the vast range of creatures and stationary life—show endless diversity in species and coloration.