Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 32
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: Abhaya, Anugraha, and the Ethics of Honoring the Worthy (दानश्रेष्ठता: अभय-अनुग्रह-विप्रपूजा)
वंशस्ते पार्थिवश्रेष्ठ भूगूणामेव तेजसा । पौत्रस्ते भविता विप्रस्तपस्वी पावकद्युति:
vaṁśas te pārthivaśreṣṭha bhṛgūṇām eva tejasā | pautras te bhavitā vipras tapasvī pāvakadyutiḥ ||
Wika ni Cyavana: “O pinakamainam sa mga hari! Sa mismong ningning ng angkan ni Bhṛgu, ang iyong lahi ay makakamtan ang pagiging brāhmaṇa. Ang iyong apo ay magiging isang brāhmaṇa na mapagpakasakit, maningning na gaya ng apoy.”
च्यवन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that true spiritual authority (vipratva/Brahminhood) is validated by tapas and sacred potency (tejas), and that lineage becomes ethically and spiritually elevated when it is aligned with ascetic discipline and dharma.
Cyavana addresses a king and foretells that, through connection with the Bhṛgu lineage, the king’s descendants will attain Brahmin status; specifically, the king’s grandson is prophesied to be an ascetic Brahmin, radiant like fire.