Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 24

ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property

Brahmasva

Devanagari script

जातिस्मरत्वं च मम केनचित्‌ पूर्वकर्मणा । शुभेन येन मोक्ष॑ वै प्राप्तुमिच्छाम्यहं नृप

Transliteration

jātismaratvaṁ ca mama kenacit pūrvakarmaṇā | śubhena yena mokṣaṁ vai prāptum icchāmy ahaṁ nṛpa ||

Translation

சாண்டாளன் கூறினான்—நரேசுவரனே! முன் பிறவியில் செய்த ஏதோ ஒரு நற்பணியின் பலனால் எனக்கு பிறவிநினைவு (ஜாதிஸ்மரணம்) ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது; அந்தப் புண்ணியத்தின் காரணமாகவே, அரசே, இப்போது நான் மோக்ஷத்தை அடைய விரும்புகிறேன்.

Word by Word

• जातिस्मरत्वम्: the state of remembering (one’s) birth/previous life
• जातिस्मरत्वम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जातिस्मरत्व (प्रातिपदिक; जाति + स्मर + त्व)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मम: of me / my
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• केनचित्: by some (thing/cause)
• केनचित्: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम् + चित्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• पूर्वकर्मणा: by a former deed / past action
• पूर्वकर्मणा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्वकर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; पूर्व + कर्मन्)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• शुभेन: by auspicious (deed)
• शुभेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• मोक्षम्: liberation
• मोक्षम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• प्राप्तुम्: to obtain
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (क्त) + तुमुन्
• Form: तुमुन्, Active (sense)

• इच्छामि: I desire
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष् (धातु)
• Form: Present, First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Nominative, Singular

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• नरेश्वर: O lord of men
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; नर + ईश्वर)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

चाण्डाल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Caṇḍāla (speaker)
• nṛpa (the king, addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Auspicious past karma can awaken jātismaratva (memory of former births), which in turn can redirect a person’s aims from worldly concerns toward mokṣa (liberation). The verse links ethical merit with spiritual insight and the aspiration for release from saṁsāra.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Caṇḍāla addresses a king and explains that he remembers previous lives due to some virtuous deed performed earlier. This remembrance has stirred in him a desire to seek liberation, setting the ethical-spiritual frame for the surrounding discourse.