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 ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Nur was der Vater ordnungsgemäß gegeben hat, darf genommen werden; was nicht gegeben ist, darf man nicht an sich reißen. Dennoch, o Bhārata, muss dem Sohn einer Śūdrā-Frau gewiss ein Anteil am Vermögen zugeteilt werden.“
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.