Upanishads · Varāha 2.5
॥
Devanāgarī
दुर्लभं प्राप्य मानुष्यं तत्रापि नरविग्रहम् । ब्राह्मण्यं च महाविष्णोर्वेदान्तश्रवणादिना
Transliteration (IAST)
durlabhaṃ prāpya mānuṣyaṃ tatrāpi naravigraham | brāhmaṇyaṃ ca mahāviṣṇorvedāntaśravaṇādinā
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दुर्लभं प्राप्य मानुष्यंdurlabhaṃ prāpya mānuṣyaṃhaving obtained the hard-won humanity
तत्र अपि नर-विग्रहम्tatra api nara-vigrahamand within it, human form
ब्राह्मण्यं च महा-विष्णोःbrāhmaṇyaṃ ca mahā-viṣṇoḥand brahmin-hood, and Maha-Vishnu
वेदान्त-श्रवण-आदिनाvedānta-śravaṇa-ādināby hearing of Vedanta and the rest
Translation
"Having obtained the hard-won state of being human, and within it a human form, and brahmin-hood, — [one who does not know] Maha-Vishnu by hearing of Vedanta and the rest…"
Version
5803732209f8 · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A discourse begins on the rarity of human birth, a commonplace in these books. Worth noting is the word durlabha, "hard-won"; and the argument behind it is usually stated thus: beings are innumerable, human bodies few; and the probability of being born human is minuscule. The Vaishnava side holds this argument and states it in a well-known verse of the Chaitanya-charitamrita: human birth is given as a boat, the guru is the pilot, and the Lord's word is the favorable wind; and one who lets such a chance slip is a suicide (Madhya 20.117).
Let us add what deserves saying of the word brahmanyam, "brahmin-hood," standing third here. We have rejected caste conditions every time they were set up as a barrier; and it is worth saying why here it stings less. Here it is named not a condition, but good fortune: not "only a brahmin is admitted," but "it is rarely obtained."
The difference between "you are not allowed" and "you were lucky" is considerable; the first locks, the second only boasts. Let us add, however, that even such boasting is harmful: it accustoms one to regard one's position as merit. The Bhagavatam sets against this a verse cited more than once (3.33.7): a dog-eater with the Name on his lips is greater than a brahmin who has performed every sacrifice. And this verse is said not of position, but of what a person does.