Shloka 2
ब्राह्मणपूजा-राजधर्मः | Royal Duty of Honoring Learned Brahmins
विश्वामित्रेण च पुरा ब्राह्म॒ण्यं प्राप्तमित्युत । श्रूयते वदसे तच्च दुष्प्रापमिति सत्तम
Viśvāmitreṇa ca purā brāhmaṇyaṁ prāptam ity uta | śrūyate vadasi tac ca duṣprāpam iti sattama ||
Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Quả có nghe rằng thuở xưa Viśvāmitra đã đạt địa vị một brāhmaṇa. Thế nhưng Ngài lại nói rằng sự đạt được ấy vô cùng khó, hỡi bậc tối thượng trong hàng người hiền đức. Vậy phải hiểu điều này thế nào?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical-philosophical problem: if tradition says Viśvāmitra attained brāhmaṇahood, yet sages also call it extremely difficult, then brahmin status is not merely a birth-label but a demanding ideal tied to rigorous qualification—discipline, truthfulness, and spiritual attainment.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a revered interlocutor (“sattama”), citing the well-known tradition about Viśvāmitra’s rise to brāhmaṇahood, and asks for clarification because the speaker has also described such attainment as very hard. The verse functions as a prompt for a deeper explanation of brāhmaṇa-qualities and the means of attaining them.