Shloka 35
Adhyāya 262: Śabda-brahman, Para-brahman, and the Ethics of Tyāga
Kapila–Syūmaraśmi Saṃvāda
निराशिषमनारम्भं निर्नमस्कारमस्तुतिम् | अक्षीणं क्षीणकर्माणं त॑ देवा ब्राह्म॒णं विदु:
nirāśiṣam anārambhaṁ nirnamaskāram astutim | akṣīṇaṁ kṣīṇakarmāṇaṁ taṁ devā brāhmaṇaṁ viduḥ ||
丘拉达罗说：“诸天所认定的真正婆罗门，是那无欲之人：不为求果而起行，不以礼拜称颂作姿态；其法（dharma）不衰，而业之系缚已被磨灭。”
चुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
A brāhmaṇa is defined by inner qualities—desirelessness, non-attachment to results, freedom from honor-seeking rituals of praise and salutation, steadfast dharma, and the exhaustion of karmic bondage—rather than by birth, status, or outward display.
In the Śānti Parva’s didactic dialogue, Chūlādhāra is instructing on ethical and spiritual criteria for true nobility. He reframes social identity (brāhmaṇa) as a moral-spiritual attainment recognized even by the gods.