संस्कारा यत्राविच्छिन्नाः स द्विजोऽजो जगाद यम् ।
saṁskārā yatrāvicchinnāḥ sa dvijo’jo jagāda yam |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.11.13)
“He in regard to whom the saṁskāras are uninterrupted and whom the Unborn One [viz., Brahmādeva] has mentioned [i.e., designated to be such] is a twice-born (dvija).”
Commentary
idānīṁ varṇa-dharmān vaktuṁ dvijānāṁ lakṣaṇam āha—saṁskārā mantravanto garbhādhānādayo yasminn avicchinnāḥ sa dvijaḥ | tarhi śūdrasyāpi saṁskārāvicchede sati dvijatvaṁ syāt tatrāha—ajo brahmā yam evaṁbhūta-saṁskāra-yuktaṁ jagāda sa dvijaḥ | śūdraṁ tu na mantravat saṁskāra-yuktaṁ jagāda, na copanayanavan tam ato nāsau dvijaḥ | tathā ca smṛtiḥ ‘vivāha-mātra-saṁskāraṁ śūdro’pi labhatāṁ sadā | na kenacit samasṛjac chandasā taṁ prajāpatiḥ’ || iti | śrutiś ca ‘gāyatryā brāhmaṇam asṛjat, triṣṭubhā rājanyam, jagatyā vaiśyam, na kenacic chūdram’ iti | ato vivāha-vyatirikta-saṁskārasyānāvaśyakatvād upanayanasya tu sarvathā niṣedhān na tasya dvijatvam ity arthaḥ | pāṭhāntare vaidikā vaidikā iti garbhādhānādaya ity arthaḥ |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā)
“Now, to explain the duties (dharmas) of the varṇas, he [viz., Śrī Nārada] states the definition of the twice-born: one in regard to whom the saṁskārās, that is, those containing mantras beginning with the garbhādhāna, are uninterrupted [i.e., one who has received all the necessary saṁskāras from ancestors who have maintained all these necessary saṁskāras with uninterrupted generational continuity] is a twice-born (dvija).
“[An objection is raised:] ‘Then if even a śūdra has uninterrupted saṁskāras, he shall also possess twice-bornness [i.e., so if a śūdra were to receive all the necessary saṁskāras from an ancestry that had maintained all of them with uninterrupted generational continuity, he too would be accepted as a twice-born?].’ In this regard, Śrī Nārada says, ‘He possessed of such saṁskāras whom the Unborn One, Brahmā, has mentioned [to be a twice-born] is a twice-born. He [viz., Brahmā] has not said that a śūdra can be possessed of saṁskāras containing mantras, and he [i.e., a śūdra] is not possessed of the upanayana [-saṁskāra]. Therefore, he [i.e., a śūdra] is not a twice-born. Accordingly also, the Smṛti [states the following], ‘Even a śūdra can always attain the saṁskāra of marriage alone [i.e., a śūdra is not eligible for any saṁskāra except that or marriage and thus is not eligible for the upanayana-saṁskāra]. The progenitor [viz., Brahmā] did not emanate him [viz., the śūdra] with any meter (chanda).’ The Śruti also [states the following], ‘He [viz., Brahmā] emanated the brāhmaṇa with the gāyatrī [meter], the royal personage [i.e., kṣatriya] with the triṣṭubhā [meter], the vaiśya with the jagatī [meter], and the śūdra without any [meter].’ Therefore, he [i.e., the śūdra] has no twice-bornness (dvijatva) because of the prohibition in every respect of the upanayana [-saṁksāra being conferred upon him] on account of any saṁskāra other than marriage being unnecessary [for a śūdra]. This is the meaning. In the case of the variant reading vaidikāḥ [in placed of saṁskārāḥ], [the word] vaidikāḥ refers to the garbhādhāna [saṁskāra] and so forth [i.e., the meaning is the same].”
saṁskārā ity ardhakam | nanu śūdrasyāpi teṣu saṁskāreṣu kṛteṣu dvijatvaṁ syāt? tatrāha—ajo yaṁ sṛṣṭvā dvijaṁ jagāda, dvijatvena nidideśa, taj-jātika eva saṁskāreṣu labdheṣu dvijaḥ syād ity arthaḥ |
(Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā)
“Saṁskārāḥ … is a half verse. [A question is raised in regard to the initial portion of the definition of a twice-born (dvija) as ‘one in regard to whom the saṁskāras are uninterrupted,’] ‘Well, when even a śūdra has those saṁskāras performed, he shall be possessed of twice-bornness (dvijatva) [i.e., if a śūdra were to receive all the necessary saṁskāras, then he too would be accepted as a twice-born]? In this regard, Śrī Nārada says, ‘Whom the Unborn One [viz., Brahmā] emanated and mentioned to be a twice-born, that is, designated as being a twice born,’ meaning, only someone belonging to that caste (jāti) shall be [accepted as] a twice-born (dvija) when he has acquired the [necessary] saṁskāras.”
idānīṁ varṇa-dharmān vaktuṁ dvijānāṁ lakṣaṇam āha—saṁskārā mantravanto garbhādhānādayo yasmin sa dvijaḥ | vicchinna-saṁskāro dvija-bandhur ity arthaḥ | ajo brahmā yaṁ jagādeti brahma-sṛṣṭyārambhata eva pravṛttāyāṁ dvija-jātau viśuddha-mātā-pitṛkam janmaiva mukhya-lakṣaṇam ity arthaḥ |
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“Now, to explain the duties (dharmas) of the varṇas, he [viz., Śrī Nārada] states the definition of the twice-born: one in regard to whom the saṁskārās, that is, those containing mantras beginning with the garbhādhāna, are uninterrupted [i.e., one who has received all the necessary saṁskāras from ancestors who have maintained all those necessary saṁskāras with uninterrupted generational continuity] is a twice-born (dvija). Someone in regard to the whom the saṁskāras are interrupted is a ‘relative of a twice-born’ (dvija-bandhu) [i.e., he is not a twice-born]. This is the meaning. Regarding [the statement,] ‘Whom the Unborn One,‘ that is, Brahmā, ‘mentioned’ (Ajo jagāda yam), the meaning is that specifically birth given by a pure mother and father in a twice-born caste (jāti) manifested from very the beginning of the emanation by Brahmā [i.e., birth in a twice-born caste (jāti), that is, a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, or vaiśya family, from a mother and father who are pure, that is, who have also received all the necessary saṁskāras in an ancestry that has sustained uninterrupted generational continuity of these saṁskāras] is the primary characteristic [of being a twice-born (dvija].”