Shloka 32
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
स्त्रीर॒त्नं दुष्कुलाच्चापि विषादप्यमृतं पिबेत् । अदृष्या हि स्त्रियो रत्नमाप इत्येव धर्मतः
strīratnaṃ duṣkulāccāpi viṣād apy amṛtaṃ pibet | adṛśyā hi striyo ratnam āpa ity eva dharmataḥ ||
ভীষ্মে ক’লে—নীচ কুলৰ হলেও যদি উত্তম নাৰী পোৱা যায়, তেন্তে তাক গ্ৰহণ কৰিব লাগে; আৰু বিষৰ ঠাইত যদি অমৃতো মেলে, তেন্তে তাক পান কৰিব লাগে। কিয়নো ধৰ্মমতে নাৰী, ৰত্ন আৰু জল—এইবোৰ ‘দূষিত’ বুলি বর্জনীয় নহয়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Judge by intrinsic worth rather than origin: an excellent woman should be accepted even if her family is low, and true benefit should be taken even if found in an unlikely or impure-seeming place; dharma discourages blanket rejection of women, jewels, and water as inherently ‘defiled’.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Bhishma gives a proverbial rule to Yudhishthira: practical dharma requires discernment—embracing genuine virtue and benefit, not merely social pedigree or superficial notions of purity.