Shloka 111

Devanagari script

चतुर्वेदो<पि दुर्वत्त: स शूद्रादतिरिच्यते । योडग्निहोत्रपरो दान्तः स ब्राह्मण इति स्मृत:

Transliteration

caturvedo 'pi durvṛttaḥ sa śūdrād atiricyate | yo 'gnīhotraparo dāntaḥ sa brāhmaṇa iti smṛtaḥ ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Mesmo aquele que dominou os quatro Vedas, se sua conduta é corrupta, é tido como não melhor que um Śūdra. Mas aquele que se dedica ao Agnihotra, é comedido e disciplinado—esse é lembrado como um verdadeiro Brāhmaṇa.”

Word by Word

चतुर्वेदःone who knows the four Vedas / the four-Veda-knower

अपिeven, also

दुर्वृत्तःof bad conduct, ill-behaved

सःhe

शूद्रात्from a Śūdra

अतिरिच्यतेis superior/exceeds

यःwho

अग्निहोत्रपरःdevoted to the Agnihotra rite

दान्तःself-controlled

सःhe

ब्राह्मणःa Brahmin

इतिthus

स्मृतःis considered/remembered (as)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Caturveda (the four Vedas)

Śūdra

Agnihotra

Brāhmaṇa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse prioritizes character and disciplined practice over mere scriptural learning: Vedic mastery without good conduct is spiritually hollow, while devotion to duty (Agnihotra) and self-restraint mark one as truly ‘Brāhmaṇa’ in the ethical sense.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Vana Parva’s dharma-discussions, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a criterion for religious and social worth: he contrasts a learned but immoral person with a disciplined practitioner, emphasizing that dharma is measured by conduct and restraint.