Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 1636
Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)
तत्प्रसादान्मया प्राप्तं ब्राह्मुण्यं दुर्लभ महत् | तदनन्तर विश्वामित्रजीने कहा
tatprasādān mayā prāptaṃ brāhmaṇyaṃ durlabhaṃ mahat |
विश्वामित्र उवाच— तत्प्रसादान्मया प्राप्तं ब्राह्मण्यं दुर्लभं महत्। राजन्! यदा क्षत्रियोऽहं तदा मम दृढोऽभवत् संकल्पो यदहं ब्राह्मणो भवामि; तदर्थं भगवान् शंकरं समाराधितवान्, तस्य कृपया च मया परमदुर्लभं ब्राह्मणत्वं प्राप्तम्।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes that lofty spiritual status is not merely inherited but can be attained through firm resolve, disciplined worship/austerity, and—decisively—divine grace; true 'brāhmaṇya' is presented as a rare ethical-spiritual attainment.
Within Vaiśaṃpāyana’s narration, Viśvāmitra recounts to a king that he once lived as a kṣatriya, resolved to become a brāhmaṇa, worshipped Śaṅkara for that aim, and by Śiva’s favor obtained the rare state of brahminhood.