कल्पान्तरे विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

Thread by @sharmasatyan on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App

yudhiShThira

Yudhiṣṭhira found it very difficult to ascertain a person’s jāti because a lot of people were being born from parents of different varṇas/jātis. He found such evidence in Veda itself; ‘ye yajāmahe..’.

ye yajamahe

In the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā of Yajurveda, we find something. [1/7]

“na vai tadvidma yadi brāhmaṇā vā smo’brāhmaṇā vā yadi tasya vā ṛṣeḥ 3smo’nyasya vā…”

“We don’t know if we are Brāhmaṇas or non-Brāhmaṇas, we belong to that Ṛṣi, or another one?…”

Nāgeśa Bhaṭṭa takes an interesting stance regarding this. He says that such a statement shows humility or humbleness on the part of speakers, which proves that they are true Brāhmaṇas.

Yudhiṣṭhira’s statement, that good behaviour is the deciding factor, is understood by NB in this manner.

Kumārila Bhaṭṭa, in his sub-commentary on Mīmāṃsāsūtra 1.2.13, discusses this. He says that there is a possibility that the biological father is other than the father. This is why a doubt may arise. Recitation of the pravara hence helps dispelling it.

Memory

To add to this, Medhātithi (Manusmṛti 10.5), Vijñāneśvara (Yājñavalkyasmṛti 1.90) and Nandapaṇḍita (Viṣṇusmṛti 16.1-2) say that the authority (pramāṇa) for jāti-s like Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, etc. is only memory (traditional).+++(4)+++

Devala

This reminds me of the episode in Buddhist literature, where Ṛṣi Asita Devala casts a similar doubt in minds of other Ṛṣis and makes them humble.

[6/7]

Today when many people, including Brāhmaṇas are proud (and sure) about their lineage, it is interesting to see that some Ṛṣis questioned even that, and exhibited humility, which as per Nāgaśa Bhaṭṭa (and Yudhiṣṭhira?) is a proof of them being true Brāhmaṇas.