बिभर्षि सूत्रं कतमोऽवधूतः ।
कस्यासि कुत्रत्य इहापि कस्मात्
क्षेमाय नश्चेदसि नोत शुक्लः ॥१६॥
kas tvaá¹ nigÅ«á¸haÅ› carasi dvijÄnÄá¹
bibharṣi sūtraṠkatamo 'vadhūtaḥ
kasyÄsi kutratya ihÄpi kasmÄt
ká¹£emÄya naÅ› ced asi nota Å›uklaḥ
kaḥ tvam - who are you; nigÅ«á¸haḥ - very much covered; carasi - you move within this world; dvijÄnÄm - among the brÄhmaṇas or saintly persons; bibhará¹£i - you also wear; sÅ«tram - the sacred thread belonging to the first-class brÄhmaṇas; katamaḥ - which; avadhÅ«taḥ - highly elevated person; kasya asi - whose are you (whose disciple or son are you); kutratyaḥ - from where; iha api - here in this place; kasmÄt - for what purpose; ká¹£emÄya - for the benefit; naḥ - of us; cet - if; asi - you are; na uta - or not; Å›uklaḥ - the personality of the pure mode of goodness (Kapiladeva).
King RahÅ«gaṇa said: O brÄhmaṇa, you appear to be moving in this world very much covered and unknown to others. Who are you? Are you a learned brÄhmaṇa and saintly person? I see that you are wearing a sacred thread. Are you one of those exalted, liberated saints such as DattÄtreya and other highly advanced, learned scholars? May I ask whose disciple you are? Where do you live? Why have you come to this place? Is your mission in coming here to do good for us? Please let me know who you are.
MahÄrÄja RahÅ«gaṇa was very anxious to receive further enlightenment in Vedic knowledge because he could understand that Jaá¸a Bharata belonged to a brÄhmaṇa family either by disciplic succession or by birth in a brÄhmaṇa dynasty. As stated in the Vedas: tad vijñÄnÄrthaá¹ sa gurum evÄbhigacchet. RahÅ«gaṇa was accepting Jaá¸a Bharata as a guru, but a guru must prove his position not only by wearing a sacred thread but by advancing knowledge in spiritual life. It is also significant that RahÅ«gaṇa asked Jaá¸a Bharata which family he belonged to. There are two types of families — one according to dynasty and the other according to disciplic succession. In either way, one can be enlightened. The word Å›uklaḥ refers to a person in the mode of goodness. If one wants to receive spiritual knowledge, he must approach a bona fide brÄhmaṇa-guru, either in the disciplic succession or in a family of learned brÄhmaṇas.
