Shloka 21
अदिद्वांश्चैव दिद्वांश्न ब्राह्मणो दैवतं महत् । प्रणीतश्नाप्रणीतश्न॒ यथानि्निर्देवतं महत्
avidvāṁś caiva vidvāṁś ca brāhmaṇo daivataṁ mahat | praṇītaś cāpraṇītaś ca yathāgnir daivataṁ mahat ||
Wika ni Bhishma: Ang Brahman, marunong man o hindi, ay isang dakilang pagka-diyos sa ibabaw ng lupa. Gaya ng apoy—maging ito’y naitatag sa ritwal na may wastong pagpapabanal o hindi—nanatili pa rin itong dakilang diyos; gayon din, ang Brahman ay dapat ituring na karapat-dapat sa paggalang.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a brāhmaṇa is to be treated as a ‘great divinity’ regardless of being learned or unlearned, paralleling how fire remains sacred whether or not it has been ritually consecrated. The ethical emphasis is on reverence and restraint in conduct toward sacred social/ritual figures.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he reinforces norms of honoring brāhmaṇas by using the analogy of Agni: consecration changes ritual status, but not the inherent sacredness attributed to fire.