Dvija
Dvija · dvi-ja, “twice-born”
Grammar: masculine noun; a compound of dvi (twice) and ja (born): “the twice-born”. The kośa of the Agni Purāṇa also gives dvija, with śakunti and śakuni, as a word for a bird (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 363).
Meaning: the brāhmaṇa, the kshatriya and the vaiśya, whose second birth is the upanayana, the saṃskāra of the sacred thread and the Gāyatrī.
In the scriptures: in teaching the dharma of the varṇas, the Agni Purāṇa says that for the brāhmaṇa and the others, the three upper varṇas, the upanayana is the second birth; hence they are dvijas (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 151).
In a time of distress. A brāhmaṇa who cannot live by his own calling may live by the callings of the kshatriya, the vaiśya and the śūdra, but never by the calling of the mixed births. In āpat-kāla, a time of distress, a dvija may also take up agriculture, trade, the keeping of cows and lending at interest; but he must not trade in cow’s milk and such, jaggery, salt, meat and the like (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 152).
The prāyaścittas of the dvija. The Agni Purāṇa gives the prāyaścitta (the rite that removes a fault) for the dvija in many cases:
- Dvijas who did not receive the upadeśa of the Gāyatrī at the proper time perform three kṛcchras, and then their upanayana is performed by rule (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 170).
- A dvija who abandons one who has come to him for refuge, or who teaches the Veda to one not entitled to it, becomes free of the pāpa by eating restricted food for one year (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 170).
- When a caṇḍāla has lived unknown in the house, the dvijas become pure by the cāndrāyaṇa or the parāka vrata, the śūdras by the prājāpatya. A dvija who ate the leavings of an antyaja performs the cāndrāyaṇa; one who unknowingly drank from a caṇḍāla’s well or vessel performs the sāntapana-kṛcchra; one who touched a caṇḍāla and then drank water performs the trirātra vrata (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 170).
- A dvija touched by an impure dog, or by a śūdra in that state, fasts for one night and becomes pure by pañcagavya; if a vaiśya or a kshatriya in that state touches him, he bathes at night. A dvija who passed urine and through ignorance ate without śauca becomes pure by drinking barley-gruel for three nights (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 170).
- A dvija who kills a cow that is very old, very weak or very young performs half of the vrata for killing a cow (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 173).
- A dvija who drank the water of antyajas fasts for three nights and partakes of pañcagavya (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 173).
- A dvija who has union with a śūdra woman for one night removes the fault in three months, eating food got by bhikshā and doing japa every day (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 173).
In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Nārada Maharshi tells Yudhishṭhira: “He in whom the saṃskāras such as upanayana have taken place without a break, and whom Brahmā, through the Veda, has determined, becomes a dvija. For dvijas yajña, the study of the Veda and dāna are ordained; and for dvijas purified by birth and by karmas, the karmas of the āśramas, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa, are also ordained” (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 7, Chapter 11).
Related terms: Upanayana · Varṇa · Brāhmaṇa · Gāyatrī · Prāyaścitta · Āpad-dharma
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 151–152, 170, 173, 363
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 7, Chapter 11