Shloka 47
धर्मनिन्दा–धर्मोपासनाफलम् तथा साध्वाचारलक्षणम्
Fruits of Disparaging vs. Observing Dharma; Marks of Good Conduct
ब्राह्मणो वाप्यसद्वृत्त: सर्वसंकरभोजन: । ब्राह्मण्यं स समुत्सृज्य शूद्रो भवति तादृश:
brāhmaṇo vāpy asadvṛttaḥ sarvasaṅkarabhojanaḥ | brāhmaṇyaṃ sa samutsṛjya śūdro bhavati tādṛśaḥ ||
Mahādeva said: “Even a brāhmaṇa, if he lives with corrupt conduct and makes a habit of eating food in the houses of all mixed-caste communities, abandons the status and discipline of brāhmaṇahood; becoming like that, he turns into a śūdra.” The verse frames varṇa not as a mere birth-label but as an ethical-religious standing sustained by conduct and purity of livelihood.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that brāhmaṇahood is upheld by right conduct (sadācāra) and disciplined living; when a brāhmaṇa adopts corrupt behavior and disregards prescribed standards—symbolized here by indiscriminate acceptance of food in socially/ritually disapproved contexts—he forfeits brāhmaṇya and is regarded as having fallen to śūdra-like status.
Śrīmahādeva is instructing on dharma and social-ritual norms, emphasizing consequences of moral decline. The statement functions as a normative warning: ethical degradation and improper associations/food-acceptance lead to loss of one’s dharmic standing.