Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 31 Shloka 11 - Mahabharata | Telugu | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 11

Vītahavya’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya (Vītahavya–Vipratva) | वीतहव्यस्य ब्राह्मण्यप्राप्तिः

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मबन्धुश्चिरं कालं॑ ततस्तु परिवर्तते । ततस्तु द्विशते काले लभते काण्डपृष्ठताम्‌

Transliteration

brahmabandhuś ciraṁ kālaṁ tataḥ tu parivartate | tataḥ tu dviśate kāle labhate kāṇḍapṛṣṭhatām ||

Translation

అతడు దీర్ఘకాలం ‘బ్రహ్మబంధు’గా—పేరు మాత్రమే, ఆచారం లేని బ్రాహ్మణుడిగా—ఉంటాడు. ఆపై స్థితి మారినప్పుడు రెండు వందల కాలం గడిచిన తరువాత ‘కాండపృష్ట’ స్థితిని పొందుతాడు—అంటే ఆయుధాలతో జీవనం సాగించే బ్రాహ్మణుల ఇంట జన్మిస్తాడు.

Word by Word

ब्रह्मबन्धुःa brahmin only by relation/name (unworthy brahmin)

चिरम्for a long time

कालम्time (duration)

ततःthen; thereafter

तुbut; indeed

परिवर्ततेchanges; turns into another state

ततःthen; thereafter

तुbut; indeed

द्विशतेin the two-hundredth (period)

कालेat the time; in the period

लभतेobtains; attains

काण्डपृष्ठताम्the state/condition of being a 'kāṇḍa-pṛṣṭha' (one living by weapons/warfare)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A person who retains only the Brahmin label (brahmabandhu) but abandons Brahminical conduct accrues long-term karmic consequences; over time this decline manifests as a lower, weapon-dependent mode of life, indicating that livelihood and birth align with one’s sustained behavior rather than mere lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma is describing the karmic trajectory of a degraded Brahmin: after remaining a brahmabandhu for a long period, his condition ‘turns’ and, after a stated span (two hundred time-units), he is said to be born among Brahmins who sustain themselves through arms and weapons—an illustrative step in a broader discussion of conduct and its results.