Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 62
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच ब्राह्मणा लोकसारेण सृष्टा धात्रा गुणार्थिना । लोकांस्तारयितुं कृत्स्नान् मर्त्येषु क्षितिदेवता:
śrīmaheśvara uvāca | brāhmaṇā lokasāreṇa sṛṣṭā dhātrā guṇārthinā | lokāṁstārayituṁ kṛtsnān martyeṣu kṣitidevatāḥ ||
圣大自在天（Śrī Maheśvara）说道：“噢，女神啊！造物主达特利（Dhātṛ）欲令诸‘德性’（guṇa）展现其游戏与果报，便从宇宙之精髓中，于人间的死生世界创造了婆罗门，为的是引导一切世界渡向安乐与解脱。在人类之中，他们被称为‘大地之神明’；因此我将先叙述他们的法（dharma）、仪轨与由此生起的果报，因为婆罗门之中所具之法，被视为至上之法。”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts that Brāhmaṇas are created from the ‘essence of the world’ to guide and uplift society; hence their dharma—grounded in learning, restraint, and ritual responsibility—is presented as paradigmatic and ‘highest’ in the text’s ethical hierarchy.
Śiva (Śrī Maheśvara) addresses Devī and begins a discourse on Brāhmaṇa-dharma, explaining their cosmic origin by the Creator and announcing that he will first describe their duties and the results of their prescribed actions.