Shloka 1636
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
तत्प्रसादान्मया प्राप्तं ब्राह्मुण्यं दुर्लभ महत् | तदनन्तर विश्वामित्रजीने कहा
tatprasādān mayā prāptaṃ brāhmaṇyaṃ durlabhaṃ mahat |
“Dengan rahmat-Nya, aku memperoleh keadaan brahminhood yang agung dan amat sukar dicapai.” Kemudian Viśvāmitra berkata: “Wahai Raja! Pada waktu itu, ketika aku masih seorang kṣatriya, timbul tekad yang teguh dalam hatiku: ‘Aku akan menjadi seorang brāhmaṇa.’ Dengan tujuan itulah aku beribadat kepada Tuhan Śaṅkara (Śiva), dan dengan kurnia-Nya aku memperoleh brāhmaṇatva yang sangat jarang dan sukar diraih.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes that lofty spiritual status is not merely inherited but can be attained through firm resolve, disciplined worship/austerity, and—decisively—divine grace; true 'brāhmaṇya' is presented as a rare ethical-spiritual attainment.
Within Vaiśaṃpāyana’s narration, Viśvāmitra recounts to a king that he once lived as a kṣatriya, resolved to become a brāhmaṇa, worshipped Śaṅkara for that aim, and by Śiva’s favor obtained the rare state of brahminhood.