Canto & Chapters
The Summum Bonum (90 Chapters)
Chapter 130v
Chapter 1
Chapter 230v
Chapter 2
Chapter 330v
Chapter 3
Chapter 430v
Chapter 4
Chapter 530v
Chapter 5
Chapter 630v
Chapter 6
Chapter 730v
Chapter 7
Chapter 830v
Chapter 8
Chapter 930v
Chapter 9
Chapter 1030v
Chapter 10
Chapter 1130v
Chapter 11
Chapter 1230v
Chapter 12
Chapter 1330v
Chapter 13
Chapter 1430v
Chapter 14
Chapter 1530v
Chapter 15
Chapter 1630v
Chapter 16
Chapter 1730v
Chapter 17
Chapter 1830v
Chapter 18
Chapter 1930v
Chapter 19
Chapter 2030v
Chapter 20
Chapter 2130v
Chapter 21
Chapter 2230v
Chapter 22
Chapter 2330v
Chapter 23
Chapter 2430v
Chapter 24
Chapter 2530v
Chapter 25
Chapter 2630v
Chapter 26
Chapter 2730v
Chapter 27
Chapter 2830v
Chapter 28
Chapter 2930v
Chapter 29
Chapter 3030v
Chapter 30
Chapter 3130v
Chapter 31
Chapter 3230v
Chapter 32
Chapter 3330v
Chapter 33
Chapter 3430v
Chapter 34
Chapter 3530v
Chapter 35
Chapter 3630v
Chapter 36
Chapter 3730v
Chapter 37
Chapter 3830v
Chapter 38
Chapter 3930v
Chapter 39
Chapter 4030v
Chapter 40
Chapter 4130v
Chapter 41
Chapter 4230v
Chapter 42
Chapter 4330v
Chapter 43
Chapter 4430v
Chapter 44
Chapter 4530v
Chapter 45
Chapter 4630v
Chapter 46
Chapter 4730v
Chapter 47
Chapter 4830v
Chapter 48
Chapter 4930v
Chapter 49
Chapter 5030v
Chapter 50
Chapter 5130v
Chapter 51
Chapter 5230v
Chapter 52
Chapter 5330v
Chapter 53
Chapter 5430v
Chapter 54
Chapter 5530v
Chapter 55
Chapter 5630v
Chapter 56
Chapter 5730v
Chapter 57
Chapter 5830v
Chapter 58
Chapter 5930v
Chapter 59
Chapter 6030v
Chapter 60
Chapter 6130v
Chapter 61
Chapter 6230v
Chapter 62
Chapter 6330v
Chapter 63
Chapter 6430v
Chapter 64
Chapter 6530v
Chapter 65
Chapter 6630v
Chapter 66
Chapter 6730v
Chapter 67
Chapter 6830v
Chapter 68
Chapter 6930v
Chapter 69
Chapter 7030v
Chapter 70
Chapter 7130v
Chapter 71
Chapter 7230v
Chapter 72
Chapter 7330v
Chapter 73
Chapter 7430v
Chapter 74
Chapter 7530v
Chapter 75
Chapter 7630v
Chapter 76
Chapter 7730v
Chapter 77
Chapter 7830v
Chapter 78
Chapter 7930v
Chapter 79
Chapter 8030v
Chapter 80
Chapter 8130v
Chapter 81
Chapter 8230v
Chapter 82
Chapter 8330v
Chapter 83
Chapter 8430v
Chapter 84
Chapter 8530v
Chapter 85
Chapter 8630v
Chapter 86
Chapter 8730v
Chapter 87
Chapter 8830v
Chapter 88
Chapter 8930v
Chapter 89
Chapter 9030v
Chapter 90
Canto 10, Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Verse 6 (SB 10.8.6)
SB 10.8.6 • मूल श्लोक

त्वं हि ब्रह्मविदां श्रेष्ठ: संस्कारान्कर्तुमर्हसि । बालयोरनयोर्नृणां जन्मना ब्राह्मणो गुरु: ॥ ६ ॥

Transliteration

tvaṁ hi brahma-vidāṁ śreṣṭhaḥ saṁskārān kartum arhasi bālayor anayor nṝṇāṁ janmanā brāhmaṇo guruḥ

Synonyms (Word-for-Word)

tvam — Your Holiness; hi — indeed; brahma-vidām — of all brāhmaṇas, or persons who understand what is Brahman (brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ); śreṣṭhaḥ — you are the best; saṁskārān — ceremonies performed for reformation (because by these reformatory activities one takes one’s second birth: saṁskārād bhaved dvijaḥ); kartum arhasi — because you have kindly come here, kindly execute; bālayoḥ — of these two sons (Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma); anayoḥ — of both of Them; nṝṇām — not only of Them, but of all human society; janmanā — as soon as he takes birth; brāhmaṇaḥ — immediately the brāhmaṇa becomes; guruḥ — the guide.*.

Translation

“My lord, you are the best of the brāhmaṇas, especially because you are fully aware of the jyotiḥ-śāstra, the astrological science. Therefore you are naturally the spiritual master of every human being. This being so, since you have kindly come to my house, kindly execute the reformatory activities for my two sons.”

Bhaktivedanta Purport

By Śrīla Prabhupāda
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.13), cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: the four varṇas — brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra — must be present in society. The brāhmaṇas are required for the guidance of the whole society. If there is no such institution as varṇāśrama-dharma and if human society has no such guide as the brāhmaṇa, human society will be hellish. In Kali-yuga, especially at the present moment, there is no such thing as a real brāhmaṇa, and therefore society is in a chaotic condition. Formerly there were qualified brāhmaṇas, but at present, although there are certainly persons who think themselves brāhmaṇas, they actually have no ability to guide society. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore very much eager to reintroduce the varṇāśrama system into human society so that those who are bewildered or less intelligent will be able to take guidance from qualified brāhmaṇas. Brāhmaṇa means Vaiṣṇava. After one becomes a brāhmaṇa, the next stage of development in human society is to become a Vaiṣṇava. People in general must be guided to the destination or goal of life, and therefore they must understand Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The whole system of Vedic knowledge is based on this principle, but people have lost the clue (na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum), and they are simply pursuing sense gratification, with the risk of gliding down to a lower grade of life (mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani). It doesn’t matter whether one is born a brāhmaṇa or not. No one is born a brāhmaṇa; everyone is born a śūdra. But by the guidance of a brāhmaṇa and by saṁskāra, one can become dvija, twice-born, and then gradually become a brāhmaṇa. Brāhmaṇism is not a system meant to create a monopoly for a particular class of men. Everyone should be educated so as to become a brāhmaṇa. At least there must be an opportunity to allow everyone to attain the destination of life. Regardless of whether one is born in a brāhmaṇa family, a kṣatriya family or a śūdra family, one may be guided by a proper brāhmaṇa and be promoted to the highest platform of being a Vaiṣṇava. Thus the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement affords an opportunity to develop the right destiny for human society. Nanda Mahārāja took advantage of the opportunity of Garga Muni’s presence by requesting him to perform the necessary reformatory activities for his sons to guide Them toward the destination of life.