Canto 9, Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Verse 17 (SB 9.2.17)

SB 9.2.16

SB 9.2.18

SB 9.2.17 • मूल श्लोक

धृष्टाद् धार्ष्टमभूत् क्षत्रं ब्रह्मभूयं गतं क्षितौ । नृगस्य वंश: सुमतिर्भूतज्योतिस्ततो वसु: ॥ १७ ॥

Transliteration

dhṛṣṭād dhārṣṭam abhūt kṣatraṁ brahma-bhūyaṁ gataṁ kṣitau nṛgasya vaṁśaḥ sumatir bhūtajyotis tato vasuḥ

Synonyms (Word-for-Word)

dhṛṣṭāt — from Dhṛṣṭa, another son of Manu; dhārṣṭam — a caste of the name Dhārṣṭa; abhūt — was produced; kṣatram — belonging to the kṣatriya group; brahma-bhūyam — the position of brāhmaṇas; gatam — had achieved; kṣitau — on the surface of the world; nṛgasya — of Nṛga, another son of Manu; vaṁśaḥ — the dynasty; sumatiḥ — of the name Sumati; bhūtajyotiḥ — of the name Bhūtajyoti; tataḥ — thereafter; vasuḥ — by the name Vasu.

Translation

“From the son of Manu named Dhṛṣṭa came a kṣatriya caste called Dhārṣṭa, whose members achieved the position of brāhmaṇas in this world. Then, from the son of Manu named Nṛga came Sumati. From Sumati came Bhūtajyoti, and from Bhūtajyoti came Vasu.”

Bhaktivedanta Purport

By Śrīla Prabhupāda

Here it is said, kṣatraṁ brahma-bhūyaṁ gataṁ kṣitau: although the Dhārṣṭas belonged to the kṣatriya caste, they were able to convert themselves into brāhmaṇas. This gives clear evidence supporting the following statement by Nārada (Bhāg. 7.11.35): yasya yal lakṣaṇaṁ proktaṁpuṁso varṇābhivyañjakamyad anyatrāpi dṛśyetatat tenaiva vinirdiśet If the qualities of one group are found in the men of another, those men should be recognized by their qualities, by their symptoms, not by the caste of the family in which they were born. Birth is not at all important; it is one’s qualities that are stressed in all Vedic literature.