Shloka 28
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
ब्राह्मण्यां ब्राह्मणाज्जातो ब्राह्मण: स्यान्न संशय: । क्षत्रियायां तथैव स्याद् वैश्यायामपि चैव हि
brāhmaṇyāṃ brāhmaṇāj jāto brāhmaṇaḥ syān na saṃśayaḥ | kṣatriyāyāṃ tathaiva syād vaiśyāyām api caiva hi ||
যুধিষ্ঠিৰে ক’লে— ব্ৰাহ্মণী নাৰীৰ গৰ্ভত ব্ৰাহ্মণ পিতাৰ পৰা জন্মা পুত্ৰ নিঃসন্দেহে ব্ৰাহ্মণ। তদ্ৰূপ ক্ষত্ৰিয়া বা বৈশ্যা নাৰীৰ গৰ্ভত জন্মিলেও সিও ব্ৰাহ্মণ বুলিয়েই গণ্য হয়।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a lineage-based view of varṇa: the child’s status as brāhmaṇa is affirmed primarily through the brāhmaṇa father, even if the mother is kṣatriya or vaiśya, emphasizing paternal descent in defining social-religious identity.
In the Anuśāsana-parvan’s dharma discussions, Yudhiṣṭhira raises or states a principle about birth and varṇa classification, framing how offspring are regarded when a brāhmaṇa father has children with women of different varṇas.