FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.20.1

श्रीबादरायणिरुवाच पूरोर्वंशं प्रवक्ष्यामि यत्र जातोऽसि भारत । यत्र राजर्षयो वंश्या ब्रह्मवंश्याश्च जज्ञिरे ॥ १ ॥
śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
[shree-baadaraayanir uvaacha]
pūror vaṁśaṁ pravakṣyāmi
[pooror vamsham pravakshyaami]
yatra jāto ’si bhārata
[yatra jaato ’si bhaarata]
yatra rājarṣayo vaṁśyā
[yatra raajarshayo vamshyaa]
brahma-vaṁśyāś ca jajñire
[brahma-vamshyaash cha jajnire]
śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said pūroḥ vaṁśam — the dynasty of Mahārāja Pūru pravakṣyāmi — now I shall narrate yatra — in which dynasty jātaḥ asi — you were born bhārata — O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, descendant of Mahārāja Bharata yatra — in which dynasty rāja-ṛṣayaḥ — all the kings were saintly vaṁśyāḥ — one after another brahma-vaṁśyāḥ — many brāhmaṇa dynasties ca — also jajñire — grew up.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca
śrī-bādarāyaṇiḥ uvāca
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
pūror vaṁśaṁ pravakṣyāmi
pūroḥ vaṁśam
the dynasty of Mahārāja Pūru
pravakṣyāmi
now I shall narrate
yatra jāto ’si bhārata
yatra
in which dynasty
jātaḥ asi
you were born
bhārata
O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, descendant of Mahārāja Bharata
yatra rājarṣayo vaṁśyā
yatra
in which dynasty
rāja-ṛṣayaḥ
all the kings were saintly
vaṁśyāḥ
one after another
brahma-vaṁśyāś ca jajñire
brahma-vaṁśyāḥ
many brāhmaṇa dynasties
ca
also
jajñire
grew up.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, descendant of Mahārāja Bharata, I shall now describe the dynasty of Pūru, in which you were born, in which many saintly kings appeared, and from which many dynasties of brāhmaṇas began.

There are many historical instances by which we can understand that from kṣatriyas many brāhmaṇas have been born and that from brāhmaṇas many kṣatriyas have been born. The Lord Himself says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.13) , cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ: “According to the three modes of material nature and the work ascribed to them, the four divisions of human society were created by Me.” Therefore, regardless of the family in which one takes birth, when one is qualified with the symptoms of a particular section, he is to be described accordingly. Yal-lakṣaṇaṁ proktam. One’s place in the varṇa divisions of society is determined according to one’s symptoms or qualities. This is maintained everywhere in the śāstra. Birth is a secondary consideration; the first consideration is one’s qualities and activities.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O descendant of Mahārāja Bharata! I shall now describe the dynasty of Pūru, in which you were born, in which many lines of saintly kings and brāhmaṇas appeared. The Twentieth Chapter tells the story of Śakuntalā in the story of Bharata, son of Duṣmanta, in Pūru’s dynasty. Brahma-vaṁśyāḥ means “producing dynasties of brāhmaṇas.
Śukadeva opens the Pūru dynasty — Parīkṣit's own line — full of saintly kings and brāhmaṇa-producing branches. Hearing one's own family in scripture is uniquely transformative; we should know where our own line is referenced.
Reflection Questions
  • Where is my own family — biological or initiatory — mentioned in tradition, and have I read those passages carefully?
  • What would change if I treated my line's history as part of the Bhāgavatam's living text?
📝 My note

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