Shloka 6

An exposition of varṇa-dharma as taught by Yājñavalkya

Devanagari script

तिस्रो वर्णानुपूर्व्येण द्वे तथैका यथाक्रमम् / ब्राह्मणक्षत्त्रियविशां भार्याः स्वा शूद्रजन्मनः

Transliteration

tisro varṇānupūrvyeṇa dve tathaikā yathākramam / brāhmaṇakṣattriyaviśāṃ bhāryāḥ svā śūdrajanmanaḥ

Translation

ဝဏ္ဏ (varṇa) အစဉ်အလာအတိုင်း ဘြာဟ္မဏ (Brāhmaṇa) အတွက် မယား သုံးယောက်၊ က္ṣတ္တရိယ (Kṣatriya) အတွက် နှစ်ယောက်၊ ဝိśယ (Vaiśya) အတွက် တစ်ယောက် ဖြစ်သည်။ သို့သော် Śūdra မွေးဖွားသူအတွက် မိမိဝဏ္ဏ၏ မယားတစ်ယောက်သာ သတ်မှတ်ထားသည်။

Word by Word

• तिस्रः: three
• तिस्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण

• वर्ण: varṇa; class
• वर्ण: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद; पुंलिङ्ग (as member)

• अनुपूर्व्येण: in due order; sequentially
• अनुपूर्व्येण: Kriya-visheshana (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनुपूर्व्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (instrumental used adverbially: ‘in order’)

• द्वे: two
• द्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन; संख्यावाचक

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/प्रकारार्थ

• एका: one
• एका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक

• यथा: as; according to
• यथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारार्थ (as/according as)

• क्रमम्: order; sequence
• क्रमम्: Kriya-visheshana (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोग (yathā-kramam = adverbial)

• ब्राह्मण: Brahmin
• ब्राह्मण: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद; पुंलिङ्ग (as member)

• क्षत्त्रिय: Kṣatriya
• क्षत्त्रिय: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्त्रिय/क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासमध्यपद; पुंलिङ्ग (as member)

• विशाम्: of the Vaiśyas
• विशाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘वैश्य’ अर्थे (of Vaiśyas)

• भार्याः: wives
• भार्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भार्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• स्वाः: their own; proper
• स्वाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with भार्याः)

• शूद्र: Śūdra
• शूद्र: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद; पुंलिङ्ग (as member)

• जन्मनः: of birth; by birth
• जन्मनः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (gen. sg.)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue instructing Garuda/Vinata-putra, per common Garuda Purana framing)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Varṇa-based prescription of number/type of wives: brāhmaṇa (three), kṣatriya (two), vaiśya (one); śūdra restricted to his own varṇa wife.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma as societal structuring principle; guṇa/karma-based social order as conceived in later tradition (not identical to Upaniṣadic non-dualism).

Application: As a historical dharma rule, it illustrates how texts systematize social roles; modern readers can extract the meta-principle: social institutions need clear, fair rules—while updating them to contemporary ethics and law.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.95 (varṇa and marriage rules)

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Kṣatriya
• Vaiśya
• Śūdra

FAQs

What is the importance of varṇa-based order in the Garuda Purana?

This verse presents a dharma-oriented framework of household conduct, stating a graded rule about the number and suitability of wives by varṇa, emphasizing adherence to prescribed social-ethical order.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

Indirectly: by stressing dharmic household discipline, it implies that right conduct (ācāra) supports merit (puṇya) and steadier post-death outcomes discussed elsewhere in the Purana.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Treat it as a historical dharma passage about social regulation; the transferable takeaway is prioritizing responsibility, consent, and ethical discipline in family life rather than using it to justify harm or inequality.