Shloka 28
Indra–Mataṅga Saṃvāda: On the rarity and responsibilities of Brāhmaṇya (इन्द्र-मतङ्ग संवादः)
ब्राह्माण्यं प्रार्थयानस्त्वमप्राप्यमकृतात्मभि: । विनशिष्यसि दुर्बुद्धे तदुपारम माचिरम्,जिनका अन्तःकरण शुद्ध नहीं है अथवा जो पुण्यात्मा नहीं हैं, उनके लिये ब्राह्मणत्वकी प्राप्ति असम्भव है। दुर्बुद्धे! तुम ब्राह्मणत्व माँगते-माँगते मर जाओगे तो भी वह नहीं मिलेगा; अतः इस दुराग्रहसे जितना शीघ्र सम्भव हो निवृत्त हो जाओ
bhīṣma uvāca | brāhmaṇyaṁ prārthayānas tvam aprāpyam akṛtātmabhiḥ | vinaśiṣyasi durbuddhe tad upārama mā ciram ||
ब्राह्माण्यं प्रार्थयानस्त्वमप्राप्यमकृतात्मभिः। विनशिष्यसि दुर्बुद्धे तदुपारम माचिरम्॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Brahminhood is presented as an ethical-spiritual qualification grounded in inner purity and self-cultivation, not something gained merely by asking or insisting; without refinement of character, the goal remains unattainable.
Bhishma admonishes a misguided seeker who is demanding or pleading for Brahmin status; he warns that such insistence, without inner transformation, leads only to ruin and urges immediate renunciation of the futile demand.