Shloka 22
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
एवं हि वैश्यशूद्राणां क्षत्रियाणां तथैव च । ये ब्राह्मणान् प्रद्धिषन्ति ते भवन्तीह राक्षसा:
evaṃ hi vaiśyaśūdrāṇāṃ kṣatriyāṇāṃ tathaiva ca | ye brāhmaṇān praddhiṣanti te bhavantīha rākṣasāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Assim é, de fato: entre vaiśyas e śūdras, e igualmente entre kṣatriyas, aqueles que guardam malícia contra os brāhmaṇas tornam-se, aqui neste mesmo mundo, ‘rākṣasas’—pessoas de índole cruel e destrutiva.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames hostility toward Brāhmaṇas—seen as custodians of sacred learning and ritual order—as a grave ethical failing that dehumanizes a person, likening such hatred to a ‘rākṣasa’ disposition (cruel, disruptive, anti-dharmic).
Vaiśampāyana, narrating to Janamejaya, states a moral principle within the Shalya Parva context: certain anti-dharmic attitudes—here, enmity toward Brāhmaṇas—are described as causing people (across non-Brāhmaṇa varṇas) to be regarded as ‘rākṣasas’ in this world.