Shloka 1
ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property
Brahmasva
/ एकाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: ब्राह्मणोंके धनका अपहरण करनेसे प्राप्त होनेवाले दोषके विषयमें क्षत्रिय और चाण्डालका संवाद तथा ब्रह्मास्वकी रक्षामें प्राणोत्सर्ग करनेसे चाण्डालको मोक्षकी प्राप्ति युधिछिर उवाच ब्राह्मणस्वानि ये मंदा हरन्ति भरतर्षभ । नृशंसकारिणो मूढा: क्व ते गच्छन्ति मानवा:
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: brāhmaṇasvāni ye mandā haranti bharatarṣabha | nṛśaṃsakāriṇo mūḍhāḥ kva te gacchanti mānavāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Ó touro entre os Bhāratas, para onde vão esses homens—vis e iludidos, culpados de atos cruéis—que roubam o que pertence a um brāhmaṇa?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames theft of a brāhmaṇa’s property as a grave ethical violation, emphasizing that such cruelty and delusion lead to a dire karmic outcome; it sets up a discussion on the moral and spiritual consequences of violating protected dharmic boundaries.
Yudhiṣṭhira opens the chapter by asking an elder (addressed as ‘bharatarṣabha’) about the post-mortem fate of people who steal brāhmaṇa property, introducing the chapter’s theme that will be illustrated through a dialogue (as indicated by the chapter heading in the provided text).