तद् विदित्वा मुनिः प्राह पत्नीं कष्टमकारषीः ।
घोरो दण्डधरः पुत्रो भ्राता ते ब्रह्मवित्तमः ॥१०॥

tad viditvÄ muniḥ prÄha
patnÄ«á¹ kaṣṭam 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; kaṣṭam - 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.


Text

When the great sage ṚcÄ«ka returned home after bathing and understood what had happened in his absence, he said to his wife, SatyavatÄ«, “You have done a great wrong. Your son will be a fierce ká¹£atriya, able to punish everyone, and your brother will be a learned scholar in spiritual science.â€

Purport

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 sṛṣṭaá¹ 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.