tad viditvÄ muniḥ prÄha
patnÄ«á¹ kaá¹£á¹am akÄraṣīḥ
ghoro daṇá¸a-dharaḥ putro
bhrÄtÄ te brahma-vittamaḥ
tat - this fact; viditvÄ - having learned; muniḥ - the great sage; prÄha - said; patnÄ«m - unto his wife; kaá¹£á¹am - very regrettable; akÄraṣīḥ - you have done; ghoraḥ - fierce; daṇá¸a-dharaḥ - a great personality who can punish others; putraḥ - such a son; bhrÄtÄ - brother; te - your; brahma-vittamaḥ - a learned scholar in spiritual science.
A brÄhmaṇa is highly qualified when he can control his senses and mind, when he is a learned scholar in spiritual science and when he is tolerant and forgiving. A ká¹£atriya, however, is highly qualified when he is fierce in giving punishment to wrongdoers. These qualities are stated in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (18.42-43). Because SatyavatÄ«, instead of eating her own oblation, had eaten that which was meant for her mother, she would give birth to a son imbued with the ká¹£atriya spirit. This was undesirable. The son of a brÄhmaṇa is generally expected to become a brÄhmaṇa, but if such a son becomes fierce like a ká¹£atriya, he is designated according to the description of the four varṇas in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (cÄtur-varṇyaá¹ mayÄ sṛṣá¹aá¹ guṇa-karma-vibhÄgaÅ›aḥ). If the son of a brÄhmaṇa does not become like a brÄhmaṇa, he may be called a ká¹£atriya, vaiÅ›ya or śūdra, according to his qualifications. The basic principle for dividing society is not a person’s birth but his qualities and actions.