Shloka 231
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
निषादो मदगुरं सूते दासं नावोपजीविनम् | मृतपं चापि चाण्डाल: श्वपाकमिति विश्रुतम्
niṣādo madaguraṁ sūte dāsaṁ nāvopajīvinam | mṛtapaṁ cāpi cāṇḍālaḥ śvapākam iti viśrutam
قال بهيشما: «إن النِّصادَ يُنجب من يُدعى مَدَغُرَ، ومنه يولد داسٌ يعتاش من شؤون القوارب. ومن ذلك النسل يظهر من يُعرف بمِرتَپَ، ومنه ينشأ الشاندالا، المشهور أيضًا باسم “شْوَپاكا” (طابخ الكلاب).»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse catalogs traditional social labels linked to birth and livelihood, illustrating how classical dharma texts mapped communities and occupations. In the broader Anuśāsana context, such classifications are typically used to discuss norms of conduct, duties, and the consequences of actions within an inherited social framework.
Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira, recites a sequence of named groups—Niṣāda → Madagura → Dāsa (boat-dependent) → Mṛtapa → Cāṇḍāla/Śvapāka—presented as a conventional genealogy of social categories. It functions as part of a didactic enumeration rather than a plot event.