Shloka 6

धर्मनिन्दा–धर्मोपासनाफलम् तथा साध्वाचारलक्षणम्

Fruits of Disparaging vs. Observing Dharma; Marks of Good Conduct

Devanagari script

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच ब्राह्माण्यं देवि दुष्प्रापं निसर्गाद्‌ ब्राह्मण: शुभे । क्षत्रियो वैश्यशूद्रौ वा निसर्गादिति मे मति:,श्रीमहेश्वरने कहा--देवि! ब्राह्मणत्व दुर्लभ है। शुभे! ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय, वैश्य और शाद्र --ये चारों वर्ण मेरे विचारसे नैसर्गिक (प्राकृतिक या स्वभावसिद्ध) हैं, ऐसा मेरा विचार है

Transliteration

śrīmaheśvara uvāca—brāhmaṇyaṁ devi duṣprāpaṁ nisargād brāhmaṇaḥ śubhe | kṣatriyo vaiśyaśūdro vā nisargād iti me matiḥ ||

Translation

శ్రీమహేశ్వరుడు పలికెను—దేవి, నిజమైన బ్రాహ్మణత్వం పొందుట దుర్లభము. శుభే, నా అభిప్రాయమున బ్రాహ్మణుడు స్వభావముచేత బ్రాహ్మణుడే; అలాగే క్షత్రియుడు, వైశ్యుడు, శూద్రుడును స్వభావముచేతనే—ఇదే నా స్థిరమతి.

Word by Word

• {'śrīmaheśvara uvāca': 'Śrī Maheśvara said (Lord Śiva spoke)', 'brāhmaṇyam': 'Brahminhood

• the state/quality of being a brāhmaṇa', 'devi': 'O Goddess (address to Pārvatī/Devī)', 'duṣprāpam': 'hard to obtain

• difficult to attain', 'nisargāt': 'from nature

• by natural disposition', 'brāhmaṇaḥ': 'a brāhmaṇa

• Brahmin', 'śubhe': 'O auspicious one (vocative feminine)', 'kṣatriyaḥ': 'a kṣatriya

• warrior-ruler class', 'vaiśya': 'a vaiśya

• merchant/agricultural class', 'śūdraḥ': 'a śūdra

• service class', 'vā': 'or

• and/or', 'iti': 'thus

• so', 'me': 'my', 'matiḥ': 'opinion

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Maheśvara (Śiva)
• Devī (Goddess, addressed as Devi/Śubhe)
• Brāhmaṇa
• Kṣatriya
• Vaiśya
• Śūdra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts that genuine Brahminhood is rare and emphasizes varṇa as rooted in nisarga—innate nature or disposition—presenting a view that social-spiritual identity is fundamentally natural rather than merely adopted.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrī Maheśvara addresses Devī, offering his doctrinal opinion about the four varṇas and the difficulty of attaining true Brahminhood, as part of a broader Anuśāsana-parvan discourse on dharma and social-religious order.