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Lord Mahāvīra and His Times
takes delight in noble words is called a Brāhmana.1 He who is free from love, hatred, and fear is called a Brāhmaṇa. A lean, self-subduing ascetic, who reduces his flesh and blood, who is pious, and who has reached Nirvāņa, is a Brāhmaṇa.3 He who thoroughly knows living beings and does not injure them in any of the three ways (by his thought, word, and deed), is a Brāhmaṇa.4 He who does not speak untruth from anger, or from greed, or from fear is a Brāhmaṇa.5 He who does not take anything which is not given to him is a Brāhmaņa. He who does not carnally love divine, human, and animal beings in thoughts, words, and deeds is a Brāhmaṇa.' He who is not defied by pleasures is a Brāhmaṇa.: He who is not greedy, who lives unknown, who has no house, and who has no friendship with householders, is a Brāhmana.' He who has given up his former connections with his relations and parents and who is not given to pleasures is a Brāhmaṇa.10 One does not become a Šramana by the tonsure, nor a Brāhmaņa by pronouncing the sacred syllable Om, nor a Muni by living in the forest, nor a Tāpasa by wearing clothes of Kuśa-grass." One becomes a Šramaņa by equanimity, a Brāhmaṇa by chastity, a Muni by knowledge, and a Tāpasa by penance. One becomes a Brāhmana or a Kshatriya or a Vaisya or a Sūdra by one's actions.13 He is a Brāhmana who is exempt from all Karma. 11 The most excellent Brāhmanas, who possess good qualities, are able to save themselves and others.15
1. Uttarā, XXV, 20. 2. Ibid, 21. 3. Ibid, 22. 4. Ibid, 23. 5. Ibid, 24. 6. "Ibid, 25. 7. Ibid, 26. 8. Ibid, 27. 9. Ibid, 28. 10. Ibid, 29. 11. Ibid, 31. 12. Ibid, 32. 13. Ibid, 33. 14. Ibid, 34. 25. Ibid, 35.
