Shloka 46

Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ाभारत अनुशासनपर्वके अन्तर्गत दानधर्मपर्वमें विवाहधर्मके प्रसंगमें स्त्रीकी प्रशंभानामक छियालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | uktaṃ te vidhivad rājan brāhmaṇasya pitāmaha | itareṣāṃ tu varṇānāṃ kathaṃ vai niyamo bhavet ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „O König, o Großvater, du hast in gebührender Form die rechtmäßige Regel über die Teilung des Vermögens eines Brāhmaṇa dargelegt. Sage mir nun: Welche Regel soll auch für die Verteilung des Vermögens der übrigen Stände gelten?“

Word by Word

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhishthira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), Third, Singular

• उक्तम्: spoken; stated
• उक्तम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उक्त (वच्-क्त)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Dative, Singular

• विधिवत्: according to rule; duly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधिवत्

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• ब्राह्मणस्य: of a Brahmin
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पितामह: O grandsire
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• इतरेषाम्: of the other
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इतर
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• तु: but; however
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• वर्णानाम्: of the social classes (varnas)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• नियमः: rule; regulation
• नियमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भवेत्: should be; may be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), Third, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Bhīṣma (addressed as Pitāmaha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames dharma as procedure-bound and differentiated by social role: Yudhiṣṭhira seeks a consistent, rule-governed standard for inheritance/wealth-division not only for Brāhmaṇas but for all varṇas, emphasizing fairness through prescribed norms rather than personal preference.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva dialogue, after Bhīṣma has described the proper rule for dividing a Brāhmaṇa’s wealth, Yudhiṣṭhira follows up with a clarifying question, requesting the corresponding regulations for the other varṇas.