Shloka 28
Indra–Mataṅga Saṃvāda: On the rarity and responsibilities of Brāhmaṇya (इन्द्र-मतङ्ग संवादः)
ब्राह्माण्यं प्रार्थयानस्त्वमप्राप्यमकृतात्मभि: । विनशिष्यसि दुर्बुद्धे तदुपारम माचिरम्
bhīṣma uvāca | brāhmaṇyaṁ prārthayānas tvam aprāpyam akṛtātmabhiḥ | vinaśiṣyasi durbuddhe tad upārama mā ciram ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Hinahangad mo ang kalagayan at asal ng isang tunay na Brahmana; ngunit para sa mga hindi pa nahuhubog at marumi ang kalooban, ito’y di maaabot. O naliligaw ang isip, mamamatay ka man sa pagmamakaawa para sa ‘pagiging Brahmana,’ hindi mo pa rin ito makakamtan. Kaya iwanan mo agad ang matigas na pagkapit na iyan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Brahminhood is presented as an ethical-spiritual qualification grounded in inner purity and self-cultivation, not something gained merely by asking or insisting; without refinement of character, the goal remains unattainable.
Bhishma admonishes a misguided seeker who is demanding or pleading for Brahmin status; he warns that such insistence, without inner transformation, leads only to ruin and urges immediate renunciation of the futile demand.