[704] Thus have I heard:
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Icchānaṅgala, in the Icchānaṅgala forest grove. Now at that time many very well-known and affluent brahmins (brāhmaṇamahāsālā) were residing at Icchānaṅgala — namely, the brahmin Caṅkī, the brahmin Tārukkha, the brahmin Pokkharasāti, the brahmin Jāṇussoṇi, the brahmin Todeyya, and other very well-known and affluent brahmins. Then, as the brahmin students (māṇavā) Vāseṭṭha and Bhāradvāja were walking and wandering about for exercise, this conversation arose between them: "How, sir, is one a brahmin?" The student Bhāradvāja said this: "When, sir, one is well born on both sides, on the mother's side and on the father's side, of pure descent as far back as the seventh generation of paternal forefathers, unassailable and irreproachable in respect of birth — to this extent, sir, one is a brahmin." The student Vāseṭṭha said this: "When, sir, one is virtuous and accomplished in observances — to this extent, sir, one is a brahmin." But the student Bhāradvāja was unable to convince the student Vāseṭṭha, nor was the student Vāseṭṭha able to convince the student Bhāradvāja.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.