Shloka 19
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
तत्तु दत्त हरेत् पित्रा नादत्तं हर्तुमहति । अवश्यं हि धन देयं शूद्रापुत्राय भारत
tattu dattaṁ haret pitrā nādattaṁ hartum arhati | avaśyaṁ hi dhanaṁ deyaṁ śūdrāputrāya bhārata ||
قال بهيشما: «لا يُؤخذ إلا ما منحه الأبُ منحةً مُقَرَّرة؛ وما لم يُعْطَ فلا حقَّ في اغتصابه. ومع ذلك، يا بهاراتا، لا بدّ أن يُخَصَّ ابنُ المرأة الشودرا بنصيبٍ من المال أيضًا».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Property should be taken only through rightful allotment by the father; unauthorized appropriation is unethical. At the same time, fairness in distribution is emphasized by requiring that even a son born of a Shudra woman receive an assured share.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and social/legal duties, he lays down a rule about inheritance and entitlement: one may accept what is granted, not seize what is ungranted, while also prescribing an obligatory provision for a śūdrāputra.