Upanishads · Rudrākṣajābāla 1.10
॥
Devanāgarī
ब्राह्मणो बिभृयाच्छ्वेतात्रक्तात्राजा तु धारयेत् । पीतान्वैश्यस्तु बिभृयात्कृष्णाञ्छूद्रस्तु धारयेत्
Transliteration (IAST)
brāhmaṇo bibhṛyācchvetātraktātrājā tu dhārayet | pītānvaiśyastu bibhṛyātkṛṣṇāñchūdrastu dhārayet
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ब्राह्मणः बिभृयात् श्वेतात्brāhmaṇaḥ bibhṛyāt śvetātlet a brāhmaṇa wear white ones
रक्तात् राजा तु धारयेत्raktāt rājā tu dhārayetred ones, let a king wear
पीतान् वैश्यः तु बिभृयात्pītān vaiśyaḥ tu bibhṛyātyellow ones, let a vaiśya wear
कृष्णान् शूद्रः तु धारयेत्kṛṣṇān śūdraḥ tu dhārayetblack ones, let a śūdra wear
Translation
Let a brāhmaṇa wear white ones, let a king wear red ones, let a vaiśya wear yellow ones, let a śūdra wear black ones.
Version
22b42054ca71 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here is the conclusion, and it must be called by its name: each is permitted only what is proper to him by birth. Let us say this plainly, for there is nothing here to soften. Everything said earlier about grace to all and the fruit of a single glance is here restricted by estate; and a person born into the wrong rank will not be admitted to the better sign.
This can be objected to in two ways, and both objections deserve to be given. The first objection comes from the book itself. Two lines above it was said that the tree took on an immobile form bhakta-anugraha-kāraṇāt, "for the sake of grace to devotees" (1.3), and in prose — sarva-anugraha-arthāya, "for the sake of grace to all" (0p2). Neither says "to brāhmaṇas"; and if the sign is given for the grace of all, to divide it by birth is to cancel the very reason it was given.
The second objection is Vaiṣṇava, and it is stated in the Gītā with a directness that leaves no room for interpretation: "having taken refuge in Me, even those of low birth — women, vaiśyas, and śūdras too — attain the highest goal" (9.32). The word paraṃ gatim, "the highest goal," means not a reward by rank but the very thing that the foremost of brāhmaṇas obtains. The Bhāgavatam goes further still and overturns the measure entirely: "even an outcaste who eats dogs, if Your name is on his lips, is higher than a brāhmaṇa who has performed every sacrifice" (3.33.7). After such testimony, a prohibition on the color of a seed by birth cannot stand.
Finally, it is worth noting that this prohibition, unlike many others, rests on nothing at all. The book does not explain why a white seed would not work for a śūdra; it simply allots — and this allotment cannot be accepted.