Shloka 3

पात्रलक्षण-परिक्षा (Pātra-Lakṣaṇa Parīkṣā) — Criteria for a Worthy Recipient

Devanagari script

जायतां ब्रह्मवर्चस्वी राष्ट्रे वै ब्राह्मण: शुचि:

Transliteration

jāyatāṃ brahmavarcasvī rāṣṭre vai brāhmaṇaḥ śuciḥ

Translation

Bhishma berkata: “Semoga lahir dalam kerajaan ini seorang Brahmana yang suci, bersinar dengan kewibawaan brahman (ilmu rohani dan tata laku berdisiplin).”

Word by Word

• जायताम्: let (two) be born / may (two) arise
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive sense), 3rd, Dual, Parasmaipada

• ब्रह्मवर्चस्वी: possessing brahmanical lustre/holy radiance
• ब्रह्मवर्चस्वी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मवर्चस्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राष्ट्रे: in the kingdom/state
• राष्ट्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वै: indeed / surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (निपात)

• ब्राह्मणः: a Brahmin
• ब्राह्मणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शुचिः: pure / clean
• शुचिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Brāhmaṇa
• rāṣṭra (kingdom/realm)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A well-ordered kingdom is strengthened when it nurtures and produces Brāhmaṇas who are both śuci (pure in conduct) and brahmavarcasvī (radiant through Vedic learning, restraint, and spiritual discipline).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma, he voices a benediction or ideal for the realm: that a pure, spiritually luminous Brāhmaṇa should be born within the kingdom—signaling the importance of learned and ethical guides for society.