p.s. It just occured to me that though the verse is appropriated for, and quoted in support of an anti-caste position by the Ramandandis, it probably comes from a thoroughly brahmanical source, since really all it says is that the saṃskāra is necessary to become a dvija, which is a tautology from a brahmanical point of view. Far less radical on its own than the Buddha's remarks about brahmins.

On Sun, Sep 11, 2016 at 10:49 AM, Jesse Knutson <jknutson@hawaii.edu> wrote:

Dear Indologists and Friends, A friend and colleague, Ramdas Lamb, has drawn my attention to, and asked me about the source, of a half-verse, which he has heard quoted a lot in Ramanandi circles in India. He is doing some very interesting ethnographic work on the evolution of this order, and told me about several inter-caste, Vedic पाठशालाs they have recently established, incorporating sometimes even dalits, women, and adivasis. I have a feeling one of you knows the source. Thanks for your time. भवदीयः,J
जन्मतो जायते शूद्रः संस्काराद्द्विज उच्यते

--
Jesse Ross Knutson PhD
Assistant Professor of Sanskrit and Bengali, Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
461 Spalding

Jesse Ross Knutson PhD

Assistant Professor of Sanskrit and Bengali, Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures

University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

461 Spalding