Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 50 Shloka 54 - Mahabharata | German | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 54

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

Devanagari script

भरतभूषण नरेश! वैश्यके धनको पाँच भागोंमें विभक्त करना चाहिये। फिर वैश्या और शूद्राके पुत्रोमें उस धनका विभाजन कैसे करना चाहिये, यह बताता हूँ ।।

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | vaiśyaputreṇa hartavyāś catvāro bhāgāḥ pitur dhanāt | pañcamas tu smṛto bhāgaḥ śūdrāputrāya bhārata ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „O Bhārata, Schmuck der Bharata-Linie! Vom Vermögen eines Vaiśya-Vaters soll der Sohn, der von einer Vaiśyā geboren ist, vier Anteile nehmen; der fünfte Anteil gilt der Überlieferung nach dem Sohn, der von einer Śūdrā geboren ist. So wird die Teilung des väterlichen Besitzes gemäß der erinnerten Regel dargelegt.“

Word by Word

वैश्यापुत्रेणby the Vaiśya’s son

हर्तव्याis to be taken/should be taken

चत्वारःfour (parts)

भागाःshares/portions

पितुःof the father

धनात्from the wealth

पञ्चमःthe fifth

तुbut/indeed

स्मृतःis declared/remembered (as)

भागःa share/portion

शूद्रापुत्रायfor the Śūdra’s son

भारतO Bhārata

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)

Vaiśya

Śūdrā

paternal wealth (pitur dhanam)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma states a Smṛti-style rule for dividing a Vaiśya father’s property: four shares go to the son born of a Vaiśyā, while one share is allotted to the son born of a Śūdrā, presenting a graded inheritance scheme tied to social categories.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction, Bhishma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on legal-ethical norms, here specifying how paternal wealth should be apportioned among sons of different maternal status.