←Previous Verse

Shloka 1

ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property

Brahmasva

Devanagari script

/ एकाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: ब्राह्मणोंके धनका अपहरण करनेसे प्राप्त होनेवाले दोषके विषयमें क्षत्रिय और चाण्डालका संवाद तथा ब्रह्मास्वकी रक्षामें प्राणोत्सर्ग करनेसे चाण्डालको मोक्षकी प्राप्ति युधिछिर उवाच ब्राह्मणस्वानि ये मंदा हरन्ति भरतर्षभ । नृशंसकारिणो मूढा: क्व ते गच्छन्ति मानवा:

Transliteration

Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: brāhmaṇasvāni ye mandā haranti bharatarṣabha | nṛśaṃsakāriṇo mūḍhāḥ kva te gacchanti mānavāḥ ||

Translation

యుధిష్ఠిరుడు అన్నాడు— ఓ భారతశ్రేష్ఠా! నీచులు, మోహగ్రస్తులు, క్రూరకర్ములు అయిన వారు బ్రాహ్మణుని ధనాన్ని అపహరిస్తే వారు ఏ లోకానికి వెళ్తారు?

Word by Word

युधिष्ठिरःYudhiṣṭhira

उवाचsaid

ब्राह्मणस्वानिthe property/wealth of Brahmins

येwho

मन्दाःdull-witted, base

हरन्तिsteal, carry off

भरतर्षभO bull of the Bharatas (best of Bharatas)

नृशंसकारिणःcruel-doing, committing atrocities

मूढाःdeluded, foolish

क्वwhere

तेthey

गच्छन्तिgo

मानवाःmen, humans

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Bharata (dynastic epithet implied by bharatarṣabha)

Brāhmaṇa (as a social-religious category)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames theft of a brāhmaṇa’s property as a grave ethical violation, emphasizing that such cruelty and delusion lead to a dire karmic outcome; it sets up a discussion on the moral and spiritual consequences of violating protected dharmic boundaries.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira opens the chapter by asking an elder (addressed as ‘bharatarṣabha’) about the post-mortem fate of people who steal brāhmaṇa property, introducing the chapter’s theme that will be illustrated through a dialogue (as indicated by the chapter heading in the provided text).