Shloka 43
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
यथैव सदृशो रूपे मातापित्रोहि जायते । व्याप्रश्नित्रैस्तथा योनिं पुरुष: स्वां नियच्छति
yathaiva sadṛśo rūpe mātāpitror hi jāyate | vyāpraśnitrais tathā yoniṃ puruṣaḥ svāṃ niyacchati ||
Bhīṣma sprach: «Wie ein Wesen in der Gestalt seiner Mutter und seines Vaters ähnlich geboren wird—wie der Tiger, erkennbar an seinem gefleckten Fell—so folgt auch der Mensch der Spur seines eigenen Ursprungs.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person’s outward form and inward tendencies are not random: they follow causes such as parentage, lineage, and the forces that shape one’s disposition. Ethically, this supports the idea that conduct and outcomes align with one’s ingrained nature and originating conditions, and thus one should understand and discipline those impulses.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma continues instructing Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he uses a general analogy—resemblance to parents and adherence to one’s own yoni (source/lineage)—to explain how beings follow their inherent constitution and the determining factors behind their birth and behavior.