Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 24

ब्रह्मस्वहरण-निषेधः — Prohibition of Appropriating Brahmin Property

Brahmasva

Devanagari script

जातिस्मरत्वं च मम केनचित्‌ पूर्वकर्मणा । शुभेन येन मोक्ष॑ वै प्राप्तुमिच्छाम्यहं नृप

Transliteration

jātismaratvaṁ ca mama kenacit pūrvakarmaṇā | śubhena yena mokṣaṁ vai prāptum icchāmy ahaṁ nṛpa ||

Translation

Người Caṇḍāla thưa: “Nhờ sức của một thiện nghiệp nào đó từ đời trước, ta đã được khả năng nhớ lại các kiếp đã qua. Vì phước lành cát tường ấy, tâu Đại vương, nay ta khát vọng đạt đến mokṣa—giải thoát.”

Word by Word

• जातिस्मरत्वम्: the state of remembering (one’s) birth/previous life
• जातिस्मरत्वम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जातिस्मरत्व (प्रातिपदिक; जाति + स्मर + त्व)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मम: of me / my
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• केनचित्: by some (thing/cause)
• केनचित्: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम् + चित्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• पूर्वकर्मणा: by a former deed / past action
• पूर्वकर्मणा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्वकर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; पूर्व + कर्मन्)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• शुभेन: by auspicious (deed)
• शुभेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• येन: by which
• येन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• मोक्षम्: liberation
• मोक्षम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• प्राप्तुम्: to obtain
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (क्त) + तुमुन्
• Form: तुमुन्, Active (sense)

• इच्छामि: I desire
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष् (धातु)
• Form: Present, First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Nominative, Singular

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• नरेश्वर: O lord of men
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; नर + ईश्वर)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

चाण्डाल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Caṇḍāla (speaker)
• nṛpa (the king, addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Auspicious past karma can awaken jātismaratva (memory of former births), which in turn can redirect a person’s aims from worldly concerns toward mokṣa (liberation). The verse links ethical merit with spiritual insight and the aspiration for release from saṁsāra.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Caṇḍāla addresses a king and explains that he remembers previous lives due to some virtuous deed performed earlier. This remembrance has stirred in him a desire to seek liberation, setting the ethical-spiritual frame for the surrounding discourse.