Mahabharata 3.37.253 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 37, Shloka 253

Vyāsa’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira: Pratismṛti-vidyā, Arjuna’s Aśtra-Quest, and the Move to Kāmyaka

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणे भ्यो नमो नित्यं येषां भैक्ष्येण जीविका । हमलोगोंमेंसे कोई भी क्षत्रिय-कुलमें उत्पन्न न हो। उन ब्राह्मणोंको नमस्कार है, जिनका भिक्षासे ही निर्वाह हो जाता है

Transliteration

brāhmaṇebhyo namo nityaṃ yeṣāṃ bhaikṣyeṇa jīvikā |

Translation

ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਜੀਵਿਕਾ ਭਿੱਖਿਆ ਨਾਲ ਚੱਲਦੀ ਹੈ, ਉਹਨਾਂ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਮੇਰਾ ਨਿੱਤ ਨਮਸਕਾਰ।

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणेभ्यः: to the Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणेभ्यः: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Plural

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य

• येषाम्: of whom/whose
• येषाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• भैक्ष्येण: by alms; through begging
• भैक्ष्येण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भैक्ष्य
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• जीविका: livelihood
• जीविका: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीविका
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• brāhmaṇas
• bhaikṣya (alms)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises brāhmaṇas who live by alms, presenting austere self-restraint and non-attachment as a venerable ethical standard; such dependence on simple sustenance is treated as a sign of commitment to dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśaṃpāyana offers a reverential statement, pausing the story to honor a class of exemplary brāhmaṇas characterized by their alms-based livelihood.