Viprata
Vipratā (Sanskrit: विप्रता) is derived from the word vipra (Sanskrit: विप्र) which means a person of Brahmin caste .'[1][2]
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In the context of Hindu philosophy, this term occurs very significantly in the second śloka (verse) of Sri Shankara’s Vivekachudamani which śloka reads as follows:
जन्तूनां नरजन्म दुर्लभमतः पुंस्त्वं ततो विप्रता तस्माद्वैदिक-धर्ममार्गपरता विद्वत्त्वमस्मात्परम्
आत्मानात्मविवेचनं स्वनुभवो ब्रह्मात्मना संस्थितिः मुक्तिर्नो शतकोटिजन्मसु कृतैः पुण्यैर्विना लभ्यते
"For all things subject to birth, birth in a human body is rare; even rarer to obtain are strength of body and mind; rarer still is purity; more difficult than these is the desire to live a spiritual life; rarest of all is to have an understanding of the scriptures, - as for discrimination between the Self and the not-self, direct Self-realization, continuous union with the Absolute, final and complete liberation are not to be obtained without meritorious deeds done in hundred billion well lived lives."
The purport of this statement is that all three twice-born castes are qualified to study the Vedas but attaining the status of viprata – that of being a Brāhmana – is very rare. Whereas a Kshatriya engages himself mostly in ruling over his kingdom and a Vaishya, in trade, etc., the person of a Brāhmana, because it is not intended for enjoying sense-pleasures, must be subjected to strict disciplines in preparation of enjoying eternal joy in store after death, the ultimate vaiśnavam padam which is the dharma only of Brāhmaņas.[3] Through a Sanskrit inscription, written in late Brahmi script, found on the Talagunda Stone-pillar in Shimoga district dated 455-470 A.D; it became known that a Kadamba king named Śāntivarman had saved the Brahmanahood in the Kali Yuga.[4] In his commentary on the Aitareya Upanishad (Sloka III.ii.3), Shankara states that the Atman is expanded only in human beings who are therefore endowed with intelligence; who see what is known, give expression to what is known and know what is to come; they know the visible and the invisible and perceive the immortal through the mortal. Thus, according to Shankara, the individual self is conscious living entity that makes the individual body eligible for action and knowledge. The Term Vipra is a synonym for a Brahmin. [5]
Śrī Candraśekhara Bhāratī of Śringeri in his commentary explains that the phrase तस्माद्वैदिक-धर्ममार्गपरता in the afore-cited verse refers to him who is inclined to the path of dharma prescribed in the Vedas; and he alone who is an āstika, the one who believes in the existence of the atman apart from the body, is qualified to study the Vedānta Śāstra. And, this means that mere viprata (birth as a brahmin) by itself will not help to attain what is to be attained, and vide Jaimini Dharma, which is super-sensuous and the very foundation of universe, is what is commanded by the Vedas. The phrase आत्मानात्मविवेचनं refers to the discrimination between the Atman and whatever is not the Atman, that is, to the Anatman, which reflection produces firm conviction of the truth of the śrutis supported by reasoning.[6]
a person becomes a Dikshita with the aid of a guru, after which gain there remains no difference of caste, then Śudratā and Vipratā, both, cease to exist.[7][8]
References
- "Sanskrit-English Dictionary". spokensanskrit.de.
- Living Liberation in Hindu Thought. SUNY Press. January 1996. pp. 61–62. ISBN 9780791427064.
- Vivekacudamani. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. 1973. pp. 6–7.
- Aloka Parasher-Sen (2007). Subordinate and Marginal Groups in India. Oxford University Press. p. 197. ISBN 9780195690897.
- The Vivekacudamani of Sankaracarya Bhagavatapada. Motilal Banarsidass. 2004. p. 58. ISBN 9788120820395.
- Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati III of Sringeri. Sri Samkara's Vivekacudamani. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. pp. 7–11. ASIN 8172764200.
- Rambilas Sharma (1999). Bharatiya Samskriti aur Hindi-pradesa (Hindi). Kitabghar Prakashan. p. 493. ISBN 9788170164388.
- "Indian Institute of Management Library, Ahemadabad".