Shloka 4
Cyavana Explains His Tests; Kuśika Seeks Brāhmaṇya for His Line (च्यवन–कुशिक संवादः)
तदस्य सम्भवं राजन् निखिलेनानुकीर्तय । कौशिकाच्च कथं वंशात् क्षत्राद् वै ब्राह्मणो भवेत्
tadasya sambhavaṁ rājan nikhilenānukīrtaya | kauśikāc ca kathaṁ vaṁśāt kṣatrād vai brāhmaṇo bhavet ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Ó rei, narra-me por inteiro as circunstâncias do seu nascimento. Como é que da linhagem de Kuśika—embora fosse kṣatriya—veio a surgir um brāhmaṇa? Conta-me, ó rei, o relato completo da origem de Paraśurāma.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry into how spiritual status and social identity (Brāhmaṇa-hood) can arise in relation to lineage (vaṁśa). It prompts reflection on whether varṇa is determined solely by birth or also by qualities, conduct, and divine/ascetic factors as explained in the ensuing narrative.
Yudhiṣṭhira requests a complete account of Paraśurāma’s origin and asks how a Brāhmaṇa could emerge from the Kṣatriya Kauśika line. This sets up the subsequent genealogical and explanatory narration by the interlocutor addressed as ‘O King’.