Shloka 44
अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः
Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind
हंस उवाच स्वाध्याय एषां देवत्वं व्रतं साधुत्वमुच्यते । असाधुत्वं परीवादो मृत्युमनुष्यमुच्यते,हंसने कहा--साध्यगण! वेद-शास्त्रोंका स्वाध्याय ही ब्राह्मणोंका देवत्व है। उत्तम व्रतोंका पालन करना ही उनमें साधुता बतायी जाती है। दूसरोंकी निन्दा करना ही उनकी असाधुता है और मृत्युको प्राप्त होना ही उनकी मनुष्यता बतायी गयी है
haṁsa uvāca | svādhyāya eṣāṁ devatvaṁ vrataṁ sādhutvam ucyate | asādhutvaṁ parīvādo mṛtyum anuṣyam ucyate ||
Disse o Haṃsa: “Para estes (brāhmanes), o svādhyāya —o estudo e a recitação do Veda— é a própria ‘divindade’ deles. A observância de votos é o que se chama sua bondade e santidade. Difamar os outros é declarado ser sua falta de bondade; e estar sujeito à morte é dito ser sua condição humana.”
हंस उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines a moral hierarchy for Brahmin conduct: Vedic self-study is their true ‘divinity’, disciplined observance of vows is their saintliness, slander is their moral downfall, and mortality marks their human limitation.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, the Haṃsa speaks as a teacher, offering concise ethical definitions—praising svādhyāya and vrata as ideals while condemning parīvāda (slander) and reminding that all remain subject to death.