Shloka 70
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
परिवेत्ता प्रयच्छेत तां स्नुषां परिवित्तये । ज्येछेन त्वभ्यनुज्ञातो यवीयानप्यनन्तरम् । एवं च मोक्षमाप्रोति तौ च सा चैव धर्मत:,परिवेत्ता पुरुष उस नववधूको पतोहूके रूपमें ज्येष्ठ भाईको सौंप दे और ज्येष्ठ भाईकी आज्ञा मिलनेपर छोटा भाई उसे पत्नीरूपमें ग्रहण करे। ऐसा करनेपर वे तीनों धर्मके अनुसार पापसे छुटकारा पाते हैं
parivettā prayacchet tāṁ snuṣāṁ parivittaye | jyeṣṭhena tv abhyanujñāto yavīyān apy anantaram || evaṁ ca mokṣam āpnoti tau ca sā caiva dharmataḥ |
Bhishma sprach: Der jüngere Bruder, der vor seinem älteren Bruder geheiratet hat (parivettā), soll jene Braut dem übergangenen älteren Bruder (parivitta) als Schwiegertochter übergeben. Dann, nachdem der Ältere seine Erlaubnis erteilt hat, darf der Jüngere sie anschließend als Ehefrau nehmen. Handeln sie so, werden alle drei—die beiden Brüder und die Frau—gemäß dem Dharma von Schuld frei.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic remedy for the social and moral fault incurred when a younger brother marries before the elder: the younger should transfer the bride to the elder (the one bypassed), and only with the elder’s consent may the younger later marry her, so that all involved are cleared of blame according to dharma.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma outlines a specific rule concerning family marriage order. He describes the roles of parivettā (the younger who married first) and parivitta (the elder bypassed) and prescribes a corrective sequence—handover, elder’s acceptance/permission, and only then the younger’s subsequent marriage—framed as removing pāpa-doṣa for the three parties.