dvitīyaṁ prāpyānupūrvyāj janmopanayanaṁ dvijaḥ |
vasan guru-kule dānto brahmādhīyīta cāhutaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.17.22)
“After receiving in sequence the second birth, the upanayana [-saṁskāra], and being invited [by a guru], a twice-born (dvija) should dwell in the house of the guru, be disciplined, and study the Veda.”
mātur yad agre jāyante dvitīyaṁ mauñji-bandhanāt |
brāhmaṇa-kṣatriya-viśas tasmād ete dvijāḥ smṛtāḥ ||
(Yājñavalkya Smṛti: 1.39)
“Since they are born first from a mother [i.e., by way of seminal birth] and second by the tying of mauñji [i.e., the upanayana-saṁskāra, which involves a ritual in which mauñji, a type of cane grass, is tied as a girdle around the initiate’s waist], these brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas are known as the twice-born (dvijas).”
mātur agre’dhi-jananaṁ dvitīyaṁ mauñji-bandhane |
tṛtīyaṁ yajña-dīkṣāyāṁ dvijasya śruti-codanāt ||
(Manu Smṛti: 2.169)
“As per the precept of the Śruti, a twice-born’s birth is first from a mother, second by the tying of mauñji [i.e., the upanayana-saṁskāra, which involves a ritual in which mauñji, a type of cane grass, is tied as a girdle around the initiate’s waist], and the third by yajña-dīkṣā [i.e., initiation into performance of Vedic sacrifice].”
janmanā brāhmaṇo jñeyaḥ saṁskārair dvija ucyate |
vidyayā yāti vipratvaṁ tribhiḥ śrotriya-lakṣaṇam ||
(Yājñavalkya; cited in Laghu Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā and Vaiṣṇavānandinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.16.2)
“One is to be known as a brāhmaṇa by birth. One is called a twice-born by saṁskāras. One attains vipratva [i.e., the status of being a vipra, a learned person] by learning. The characteristic of a śrotriya [i.e., one who is conversant in the Veda] is by these three [i.e., one who is born in a brāhmaṇa family, receives the necessary saṁskāras, and attains the necessary learning is accepted as being śrotriya, that is, conversant in the Vedas].”
na brāhmaṇān me dayitaṁ rūpam etac catur-bhujam |
sarva-vedamayo vipraḥ sarva-devamayo hy aham ||
duṣprajñā aviditvaivam avajānanty asūyavaḥ |
guruṁ māṁ vipram ātmānam arcādāv ijya-dṛṣṭayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.86.54–55)
“[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] This four-armed form of mine is not dear [to me] more so than a brāhmaṇa since a brāhmaṇa is constituted of all the Vedas and I am constituted of all the devas. Not understanding this, detractors [of brāhmaṇas] lacking insight, who are seers of worshipability [only] in the deity and so on [i.e., not in the brāhmaṇa], disregard the brāhmaṇa—the guru, me, the Self [i.e., they disregard the brāhmaṇa, who is worshipable just by virtue of his caste, and even more worshipable because (1) he is the guru, that is, the teacher of all other castes in society, (2) he is me, that is, non-different from me by virtue of being a paramount dwelling place (adhiṣṭhāna) of mine, and (3) he is the Self, that is, a form of the Supreme Self (Paramātmā)].”
nāham ijyā-prajātibhyāṁ tapasopaśamena vā |
tuṣyeyaṁ sarva-bhūtātmā guru-śuśrūṣayā yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.80.34)
“I [Bhagavān], the Self of all beings, shall not be satisfied by sacrifice, higher birth [alt., procreation], austerity, or equilibrium as [I am] by service to the guru.”
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.”
tvaṁ hi brahma-vidāṁ śreṣṭhaḥ saṁskārān kartum arhasi |
bālayor anayor nṝṇāṁ janmanā brāhmaṇo guruḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.8.6)
“[Nanda Mahārāja to Garga Muni:] Since you are the best of knowers of Brahman, you are fit to perform the saṁskāras for these two boys [viz., Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma]. A brāhmaṇa by birth is the guru of human beings.”
jāti kula kriyā dhane kichu nāhi kare |
prema-dhana ārti vine nā pāi kṛṣṇere ||
ye te kule vaiṣṇavera janma kene nahe |
tathāpiha sarvottama sarva-śāstre kahe ||
ei tāra pramāṇa—yavana hari-dāsa |
brahmādira durlabha dekhila parakāśa ||
ye pāpiṣṭha vaiṣṇavera jāti-buddhi kare |
janma janma adhama-yonite ḍubi mare ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 2.10.99–102)
“Caste [i.e., birth in a high caste], family [i.e., birth in a noble family], accomplishment [i.e., performing great worldly works], and wealth do not do anything [i.e., cannot enable anyone to attain Kṛṣṇa]. Without the wealth of prema and heartache (ārti), one does not attain Kṛṣṇa. A Vaiṣṇava’s birth may be in any family. Why not? Still, all the śāstras say the Vaiṣṇava is the most exalted of all [i.e., exalted above and beyond all who neglect to engage in bhakti to Śrī Bhagavān, regardless of their caste, family, accomplishments, and wealth]. The evidence of this is Yavana Hari Dāsa, who saw a manifestation [of Śrī Bhagavān] difficult to attain [even] for Brahmā and others. A sinner who considers a Vaiṣṇava to belong to a caste [i.e., be no different than others in the caste of his birth] sinks to a lowly form of life and dies birth after birth.”
te vai vidanty atitaranti ca deva-māyāṁ
strī-śūdra-hūṇa-śabarā api pāpa-jīvāḥ |
yady adbhuta-krama-parāyaṇa-śīla-śikṣās
tiryag-janā api kim u śruta-dhāraṇā ye ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.7.46; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 115)
“If they become educated about the character of those whose ultimate shelter is he of astonishing step, [then] women, śūdras, Hūṇas, and Śabaras—even sinful living beings—and even animals, can certainly know and cross beyond Deva’s māyā, so how much more so can those who grasp what they have heard?”
