Shloka 3
अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā
पराशर उवाच एवमेतन्महाराज येन जात: स एव सः | तपसस्त्वपकर्षेण जातिग्रहणतां गत:
Parāśara uvāca: evam etan mahārāja yena jātaḥ sa eva saḥ | tapasas tv apakarṣeṇa jātigrahaṇatāṁ gataḥ ||
Wika ni Parāśara: “Ganyan nga, O dakilang hari: ang likas na anyo ng nilalang ay tumutugma sa pinagmulan ng kanyang kapanganakan. Ngunit kapag humina ang tapasya at disiplina ng espiritu, ang mga tao’y nauuri sa mas mababang kalagayan at waring ‘tumatanggap’ ng hamak na katayuan ng kapanganakan.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Parāśara affirms that one’s nature aligns with one’s origin, but adds an ethical warning: when tapas (discipline and spiritual effort) diminishes, people fall into inferior conditions and become identified with lower birth-status. The verse links moral/spiritual decline with social degradation.
Parāśara addresses the king and clarifies a point about birth and identity: while it is generally true that a being reflects its source, the decline of austerity alters outcomes, leading to the acquisition of lower social classification. It functions as an explanatory remark within a broader dharma discussion in Śānti Parva.