Shloka 16
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
त्रीणि वर्षाण्युदी क्षेत्र कन्या ऋतुमती सती । चतुर्थे त्वथ सम्प्राप्ते स्वयं भर्तारमर्जयेत्
trīṇi varṣāṇy udīkṣeta kanyā ṛtumatī satī | caturthe tv atha samprāpte svayaṃ bhartāram arjayet ||
قال بهيشما: «إذا بلغت الفتاةُ ولبثت غيرَ متزوجة، فعليها أن تنتظر ثلاثَ سنين لعلّ زواجاً لائقاً يُرتَّب لها. فإذا حلّت السنةُ الرابعة جاز لها، باختيارها هي، أن تتخذ لنفسها زوجاً.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Guardians should not postpone arranging a marriage after a girl reaches maturity; if they neglect this duty, dharma permits the maiden, after waiting three years, to choose and secure a husband herself in the fourth year.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he lays down a normative rule about the timing of marriage for a maiden who has reached puberty, specifying a three-year waiting period and then allowing self-choice if guardians fail to act.