Shloka 21
च्यवन-कुशिक-संवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Hospitality, Service, and Lineage Questions
अस्वामिकस्य स्वामित्वं यस्मिन् सम्प्रति लक्ष्यते । यो वर्ण: पोषयेत् तं च तद्धर्णस्तस्य जायते,वर्तमान समयमें जो उस अनाथ बच्चेका स्वामी दिखायी देता है और उसका पालन- पोषण करता है, उसका जो वर्ण है, वही उस बच्चेका भी वर्ण हो जाता है
asvāmakasya svāmitvaṃ yasmin samprati lakṣyate | yo varṇaḥ poṣayet taṃ ca tadvarṇas tasya jāyate ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Bei einem Kind ohne anerkannten Vormund gilt: Wer gegenwärtig als sein Schutzherr erscheint und es erhält und aufzieht — welcher varṇa (Stand) auch immer der seine ist — derselbe varṇa wird auch dem Kind zugerechnet.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a dharma-based principle of social identity: for a guardianless child, the presently recognized guardian who undertakes the duty of maintenance and upbringing effectively determines the child’s varṇa in social-legal terms.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he addresses how society should classify and treat a child without a known protector, grounding the rule in observable guardianship and the ethical responsibility of providing care.