200 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 5, Ch. 5
ORC OEE
ATA aATAATT TA MRM
dhrta taniir usati me purani
yeneha sattvam paramam pavitram
samo damah satyam anugrahas ca
tapas titiksanubhavas ca yatra

dhrta—maintained by transcendental education; tantih—body;
usati—free from material contamination; me—My: purdni—eternal:
yena—by whom: iha—in this material world; sattvam—the mode of
goodness: paramam—supreme: pavitram—purified; samah—control of
the mind: damah—control of the senses; satyam—truthfulness;
anugrahah—mercy; ca—and; tapah—austerity; titiksa—tolerance;
anubhavah—realization of God and the living entity; ca—and; yatra—
wherein.

TRANSLATION

The Vedas are My eternal transcendental sound incarnation.
Therefore the Vedas are Sabda-brahma. In this world, the
brahmanas thoroughly study all the Vedas, and because they
assimilate the Vedic conclusions, they are also to be considered the
Vedas personified. The brahmanas are situated in the supreme
transcendental mode of nature—sattva-guna. Because of this, they
are fixed in mind control [Sama], sense control [dama], and
truthfulness [satya]. They describe the Vedas in their original
sense, and out of mercy [anugraha] they preach the purpose of the
Vedas to all conditioned souls. They practice penance [tapasya] and
tolerance [titiksa], and they realize the position of the living entity
and the Supreme Lord [anubhava]. These are the eight qualifica-
tions of the brahmanas. Therefore among all living entities, no
one is superior to the brahmanas.

PURPORT

This is a true description of a brahmana. A brahmana is one who has

assimilated the Vedic conclusions by practicing mind and sense control.
