Shloka 173
Pūjya-namaskārya-prakaraṇa
On Those Worthy of Honor and Salutation
अहिंसादममास्थाय कथं नाहामि विप्रताम् । शक्र! मैं एकान्तमें आनन्दपूर्वक रहता हूँ तथा द्वद्धों और परिग्रहोंसे दूर हूँ। अहिंसा और दमका पालन किया करता हूँ। ऐसी दशामें मैं ब्राह्मणत्व पाने योग्य क्यों नहीं हूँ?
ahiṃsā-damam āsthāya kathaṃ nāhāmi vipratām | śakra! mayi ekānte ānandapūrvakaṃ vasāmi tathā dvandvānāṃ parigrahāṇāṃ ca dūrībhūtaḥ | ahiṃsāṃ ca damaṃ ca pālayāmi | etādṛśyāṃ daśāyāṃ brāhmaṇatva-prāptaye yogyatā mama kuto na syāt?
Wika ni Matanga: “Yamang kumakapit sa ahiṃsā (di-karahasan) at sa pagpipigil sa sarili, bakit hindi ko mararating ang katayuang brāhmaṇa? O Śakra! Namumuhay ako sa pag-iisa na may kagalakang panloob, malayo sa mga salungatang pares at sa pagkamakamkam. Isinasabuhay ko ang di-karahasan at disiplina. Sa ganitong kalagayan, bakit ako itinuturing na hindi karapat-dapat magtamo ng pagiging brāhmaṇa?”
मतंग उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ethical and spiritual qualification is argued through conduct: non-violence (ahiṃsā), self-restraint (dama), detachment from dualities (dvandva) and possessions (parigraha), and contented solitude are presented as grounds for brahminhood, challenging purely birth-based claims.
Matanga addresses Śakra (Indra), defending his worthiness for brahmin status. He lists his disciplined way of life—solitude, joy, freedom from attachment and dualities, and observance of ahiṃsā and dama—then asks why, despite these virtues, he should be denied brahminhood.