Devanagari
ततो वर्णाश्च चत्वारस्तेषां ब्राह्मण उत्तम: ।
ब्राह्मणेष्वपि वेदज्ञो ह्यर्थज्ञोऽभ्यधिकस्तत: ॥ ३१ ॥
Verse text
tato varṇāś ca catvāras
teṣāṁ brāhmaṇa uttamaḥ
brāhmaṇeṣv api veda-jṣo
hy artha-jṣo ’bhyadhikas tataḥ
Synonyms
tataḥ
—
among them
;
varṇāḥ
—
classes
;
ca
—
and
;
catvāraḥ
—
four
;
teṣām
—
of them
;
brāhmaṇaḥ
—
a brāhmaṇa
;
uttamaḥ
—
best
;
brāhmaṇeṣu
—
among the brāhmaṇas
;
api
—
moreover
;
veda
—
the Vedas
;
jṣaḥ
—
one who knows
;
hi
—
certainly
;
artha
—
the purpose
;
jṣaḥ
—
one who knows
;
abhyadhikaḥ
—
better
;
tataḥ
—
than him .
Translation
Among human beings, the society which is divided according to quality and work is best, and in that society, the intelligent men, who are designated as brāhmaṇas, are best. Among the brāhmaṇas, one who has studied the Vedas is the best, and among the brāhmaṇas who have studied the Vedas, one who knows the actual purport of Veda is the best.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Among the humans, those within the varṇāśrama are superior. Among the varṇas, the bṛahmaṇas are the best. Among the brāhmaṇas, one who knows the Vedas is superior. Among the knowledgeable brāhmaṇas, one who knows the meaning of the Vedas is superior.
Tataḥ means among the humans.
Purport
The system of four classifications in human society according to quality and work is very scientific. This system of
brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas
and
śūdras
has now become vitiated as the present caste system in India, but it appears that this system has been current a very long time, since it is mentioned in
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
and
Bhagavad-gītā.
Unless there is such a division of the social orders in human society, including the intelligent class, the martial class, the mercantile class and the laborer class, there is always confusion as to who is to work for what purpose. A person trained to the stage of understanding the Absolute Truth is a
brāhmaṇa,
and when such a
brāhmaṇa
is
veda jṣa,
he understands the purpose of
Veda.
The purpose of
Veda
is to understand the Absolute. One who understands the Absolute Truth in three phases, namely Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, and who understands the term
Bhagavān
to mean the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is considered to be the best of the
brāhmaṇas,
or a Vaiṣṇava.