Shloka 20
Vena’s Fall into Adharma and the Prelude to Pṛthu’s Birth
मामेव कर्मणा विप्रा भजध्वं धर्मरूपिणम् । ऋषय उचुः । ब्राह्मणाः क्षत्त्रिया वैश्यास्त्रयोवर्णा द्विजातयः
māmeva karmaṇā viprā bhajadhvaṃ dharmarūpiṇam | ṛṣaya ucuḥ | brāhmaṇāḥ kṣattriyā vaiśyāstrayovarṇā dvijātayaḥ
“ஓ விப்ரர்களே! விதிக்குரிய கர்மங்களால் என்னையே வழிபடுங்கள்; நான் தர்மமூர்த்தி.” ரிஷிகள் கூறினர்—“பிராமணர், க்ஷத்திரியர், வைசியர்—இந்த மூன்று வர்ணங்களும் த்விஜர்.”
Narrator/Deity (addressing the vipras), followed by the Ṛṣis (sages)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
Sandhi Resolution Notes: मामेव = माम् + एव; भवान्ब्राह्मण (next verse) not here. वैश्यास्त्रयोवर्णा = वैश्याः + त्रयः + वर्णाः (आः + त् → आस्त् sandhi).
FAQs
It indicates devotion expressed through one’s prescribed religious and ethical duties—rituals, study, charity, restraint, and righteous conduct—performed as worship of the divine who is identified with Dharma.
The verse states that Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas—the three varnas—are dvija, traditionally understood as receiving a ‘second birth’ through initiation (upanayana) and Vedic discipline.
It frames righteousness not as a mere social rule but as sacred reality: aligning one’s actions with Dharma becomes a direct form of divine worship, linking ethics, ritual duty, and spiritual devotion.