Shloka 6
Vītahavya’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya (Vītahavya–Vipratva) | वीतहव्यस्य ब्राह्मण्यप्राप्तिः
तिर्यग्योनिगत: सर्वो मानुष्यं यदि गच्छति । स जायते पुल्कसो वा चण्डालो वाप्यसंशय:
tiryagyoni-gataḥ sarvo mānuṣyaṃ yadi gacchati | sa jāyate pulkaso vā caṇḍālo vāpy asaṃśayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma nói: Bất kỳ hữu tình nào đã sa vào thai loài thú hay loài chim, nếu về sau đạt được thân người, thì trước hết sẽ sinh làm Pulkaśa hoặc Caṇḍāla—điều ấy không chút nghi ngờ.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a karmic gradation of rebirth: transition from animal/bird existence to human birth is depicted as occurring first through a low and stigmatized human condition, emphasizing that prior actions shape the quality and social circumstances of one’s next embodiment.
Bhīṣma is instructing (in a dharma-teaching context) about consequences of conduct across births, stating a rule-like assertion about how beings move from non-human wombs to human birth, using Pulkaśa and Caṇḍāla as illustrative categories.