Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 15
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
शूद्रायां ब्राह्म॒णाज्जातो नित्यादेयधन: स्मृतः । अल्पं चापि प्रदातव्यं शूद्रापुत्राय भारत
śūdrāyāṁ brāhmaṇāj jāto nityādeyadhanaḥ smṛtaḥ | alpaṁ cāpi pradātavyaṁ śūdrāputrāya bhārata ||
ভীষ্ম বললেন—শূদ্রা নারীর গর্ভে ব্রাহ্মণ থেকে জন্মানো পুত্রকে শাস্ত্রে ‘নিত্য-আদেয়-ধন’ বলে স্মরণ করা হয়। আর, হে ভারত, শূদ্রের পুত্রকে দান করলেও অল্পই দান করা উচিত।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a traditional normative rule about social status affecting property rights and the scale of gifts: a son born of a Brāhmaṇa by a Śūdra woman is described as having wealth that is ‘always liable to be taken/levied,’ and gifts to a Śūdra’s son are advised to be small—reflecting a hierarchy-based dharma framework in this section on conduct and giving.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including rules concerning dāna (gift-giving) and social regulations. Here he articulates a prescriptive tradition about how gifts and property are to be treated in relation to varṇa and birth.