Shloka 16

Pūjya-namaskārya-prakaraṇa

On Those Worthy of Honor and Salutation

Devanagari script

दुष्प्रापं खलु विप्रत्वं प्राप्त दुरनुपालनम्‌

Transliteration

duṣprāpaṃ khalu vipratvaṃ prāpta duranupālanam

Translation

Матангa сказал: «Воистину, брахманство трудно обрести; а обретя его, трудно сохранить и жить ему в соответствии».

Word by Word

• दुष्प्रापम्: hard to obtain
• दुष्प्रापम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुष्प्राप (दुर् + प्राप)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• खलु: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: खलु

• विप्रत्वम्: Brahminhood; the state of being a brāhmaṇa
• विप्रत्वम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्रत्व
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• प्राप्तम्: obtained, attained
• प्राप्तम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राप्त (प्र + आप्)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• दुरनुपालनम्: hard to maintain/observe (properly)
• दुरनुपालनम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरनुपालन (दुर् + अनुपालन)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

मतंग उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Matanga
• vipratva (brahminhood)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

High spiritual and ethical status is not merely a birth-label or a one-time achievement; it is difficult to reach and even harder to sustain through consistent conduct, restraint, and faithful observance of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Matanga is speaking reflectively about the demanding nature of ‘vipratva’—emphasizing that attaining the ideal of a brāhmaṇa and maintaining it through disciplined living is a challenging task.