Twice-born
“dvija”
group · 7 works · 11 mentions · 18 anchored passages
twice-born · the twice-born · dvija · great seers · sages · ṛṣis · Brāhmaṇa householder · dvijāti · noble sages · perfected sages
spoken of as
3 expressionsSages and seers“the twice-born”3 mentions
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa (Sanskrit)
And those great seers, knowers of dharma and of great fortune, told me:
The twice-born3 mentions
Āṅgirasa Smṛti (Sanskrit) · Manusmṛti (Sanskrit) · Viṣṇu Smṛti (Sanskrit)
The twice-born, prostrating themselves before the sage Āṅgirasa, who was the very image of fire, said to him:
sages/seers1 mention
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa (Sanskrit)
"May there be welfare for the cows, the brāhmaṇas, and all beings held in esteem.
in the texts
Manusmṛti
The Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, and Vaiśya varnas collectively, distinguished from the Śūdra by ritual second birth.
84 // If twice-born men should marry wives of their own and of other *varnas*, their seniority, honor, and dwelling shall be according to the order of their *varna*.
And by all these four twice-born in their *āśramas*, this tenfold Dharma must be diligently practiced.
The celibate student, the householder, the forest-dweller, and the ascetic—these four separate *āśramas* originate from the householder.
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa
The class of learned, twice-born sages whose teachings and deeds authorize funeral rites and sanctify the Mataṅga hermitage.
And those great seers, knowers of dharma and of great fortune, told me:
That which the twice-born declare concerning the passage of a mortal soul to heaven — that rite of passage — Rāma quickly recited for his sake.
By the power of their austerities, behold even now, O best of the Raghus, that the altars illumine all directions with radiance of incomparable splendor.
Āṅgirasa Smṛti
The class of ritually initiated (dvija) persons who approach Aṅgiras seeking instruction in dharma.
The twice-born, prostrating themselves before the sage Āṅgirasa, who was the very image of fire, said to him:
Gaṇapatitattva
A ritual/social class (the twice-born) whose form of worship and deity-location is contrasted with sages and ordinary people.
the twice-born is dissolved in his own *liṅga*.
As for the twice-born, their deity’s abode is in water.
> In water is the god of the twice-born, for sages the deity is in heaven.
Vīramitrodaya
Members of the three upper varṇas entitled to the sacred thread, treated as the default subjects of the standard śrāddha timing rules.
> In the morning, a best of the twice-born should not perform a *śrāddha*.
Therefore, an *āmaśrāddha* should be performed by a Śūdra also in the forenoon itself.
And this injunction of the forenoon in an *āmaśrāddha* applies only to an *āmaśrāddha* performed by a twice-born, not to an *āmaśrāddha* performed by a Śūdra.
Viṣṇu Smṛti
The collective category of Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, and Vaiśyas, distinguished by undergoing the rites culminating in a second, ritual birth.
Of these, the first three are the twice-born (*dvijāti*).
For the twice-born, sacrificing for others and studying the Veda are also duties.
For them, the series of rites performed with sacred formulas begins with conception and ends at the cremation ground.
Yājñavalkya Smṛti
The first three varṇas, so called because of their ritual second birth through upanayana.
Of sacrifices, of austerities, and of all auspicious actions, the Veda alone is the supreme means of ultimate bliss for the twice-born.
Because they are first born from their mother, and a second time from the tying of the muñja grass girdle, Brāhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, and Vaiśyas are therefore known as the twice-born.