Shloka 12

Devanagari script

त्रैलोक्यस्यैव हेतुर्हि मर्यादा शाश्वती ध्रुवा । ब्राह्मणो नाम भगवान्‌ जन्मप्रभूति पूज्यते,वैदिक धर्मकी सनातन मर्यादा तीनों लोकोंका हित करनेवाली एवं ध्रुव है। ब्राह्मण पूजनीय है और जन्म-कालसे ही उसका सबके द्वारा समादर होता है

Transliteration

trailokyasyaiva hetur hi maryādā śāśvatī dhruvā | brāhmaṇo nāma bhagavān janmaprabhṛti pūjyate ||

Translation

کپِل نے کہا—ویدک دھرم کی ابدی اور ثابت مر्यادا ہی تینوں لوکوں کے قائم رہنے کی علت ہے اور انہی کے بھلے کے لیے قائم ہے۔ اسی لیے ‘بھگوان’ کہلانے والا برہمن پیدائش ہی سے قابلِ تعظیم و پرستش سمجھا جاتا ہے۔

Word by Word

त्रैलोक्यस्यof the three worlds

एवindeed/only

हेतुःcause

हिfor/indeed

मर्यादाboundary/limit; established norm

शाश्वतीeternal

ध्रुवाfirm/steady

ब्राह्मणःa Brahmin

नामby name/indeed (as called)

भगवान्venerable/lordly one

जन्मप्रभूतिfrom birth onward

पूज्यतेis worshipped/honoured

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kapila

Brāhmaṇa

Trailokya (the three worlds)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That the enduring norms (maryādā) of Vedic dharma uphold the welfare and stability of the three worlds, and that the Brāhmaṇa—seen as a guardian of that dharma through learning and conduct—deserves honor from birth.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shānti Parva’s didactic discourse, Kapila is speaking about dharma and social order, emphasizing how established Vedic norms sustain the cosmos and why reverence toward the Brāhmaṇa is prescribed as part of that order.