ब्राह्मणो जन्मना श्रेयान्सर्वेषां प्राणिनामिह ।
तपसा विद्यया तुष्ट्या किमु मत्कलया युतः ॥
brāhmaṇo janmanā śreyān sarveṣāṁ prāṇinām iha |
tapasā vidyayā tuṣṭyā kim u mat-kalayā yutaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.86.53)
“A brāhmaṇa by birth is the best of all living beings here, and all the more so [is superior to others when] endowed with austerity, learning, contentment, and worship of me.”
Commentary
janmanā jāti-mātreṇaiva iha bhūmau trilokyāṁ vā sarveṣāṁ madhye śreyān, tatra ca tapa-ādinā, tatrāpi mat-kalayā śreyān iti kiṁ vaktavyam ity arthaḥ | tapaḥ sva-dharmaḥ, vidyā śāstrābhyāsaḥ, tuṣṭir yathā-lābhena tṛptiḥ śāntir vā, kalā bhaktiḥ, eṣāṁ yathottaraṁ śraiṣṭhyam |
(Excerpt from the Bṛhad Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.86.53)
“Among all [living beings] ‘here’ (iha), that is, on earth, or throughout the three worlds, [a brāhmaṇa] is the best ‘by birth’ (janmanā), that is, by birth alone. In that regard, furthermore, what need is there to say [that he is the] best by virtue of austerity and so on, and further in that regard [that he is the best] by virtue of worship of me. This is the meaning [i.e., since a brāhmaṇa is to be honored as the best of living beings just by virtue of his birth in a brāhmaṇa family, then it goes without saying that such a brāhmaṇa is all the more worthy of being honored as the best of living beings when in addition to that he is endowed with austerity, learning, contentment, and bhakti to Bhagavān]. ‘Austerity’ (tapaḥ) refers to personal duties (svadharma [i.e., the duties of one’s varṇa and āśrama]. ‘Learning’ (vidyā) refers to study of śāstra. ‘Contentment’ (tuṣṭiḥ) refers to satisfaction in accord with attainment [i.e., being satisfied with whatever comes] or peace (śānti). ‘Worship’ (kalā) refers to bhakti. Superiority among these is as subsequent [i.e., these reasons for a brāhmaṇa’s superiority to other living beings are listed in order proceeding from lesser to greater, meaning, each successive reasoning is an indicator of even greater honorability than the last].”