Shloka 47
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
भीष्म उवाच क्षत्रियस्यापि भायें द्वे विहिते कुरुनन्दन । तृतीया च भवेच्छूद्रा न तु दृष्टान्तत: स्मृता
bhīṣma uvāca | kṣatriyasyāpi bhārye dve vihite kurunandana | tṛtīyā ca bhavec chūdrā na tu dṛṣṭāntataḥ smṛtā ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Freude der Kurus, auch für einen Kṣatriya schreiben die Schriften zwei rechtmäßige Ehefrauen vor (aus höheren varṇa). Eine dritte—aus der Śūdra-Klasse—kann in der Praxis ebenfalls zur Ehefrau werden; doch wird dies durch keinen schriftgemäßen Präzedenzfall als verbindliches Vorbild gestützt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma distinguishes between what is explicitly sanctioned by śāstra (two wives for a Kshatriya from the higher varṇas) and what may occur in practice (a Śūdra wife), noting that the latter is not presented as an authoritative scriptural exemplar.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he addresses the Kurunandana (the royal listener) while discussing marriage norms and the limits of scriptural endorsement regarding inter-varṇa unions.