Shloka 114
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
शद्राश्न ब्राह्मणीं भार्यामुपयास्यन्ति निर्भया: । वियोनिषु विमोक्ष्यन्ति बीजानि पुरुषा यदा
śūdrāś ca brāhmaṇīṁ bhāryām upayāsyanti nirbhayāḥ | viyoniṣu vimokṣyanti bījāni puruṣā yadā ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Wenn Männer, die Furcht und Zügel abwerfend, als Śūdras ohne Scheu eine Brāhmaṇa-Frau zur Gattin begehren, dann werden sie ihren Samen in unziemliche Schoße entlassen. Eine solche Überschreitung sozialer und sittlicher Grenzen gilt hier als Zeichen moralischer Unordnung und der Verwirrung des Dharma.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames unrestrained crossing of prescribed marital boundaries as a symptom of adharma, warning that ethical and social norms around marriage and procreation, when disregarded, lead to disorder and confusion of duties.
In the Śānti Parva’s dharma-discourse, Bhīṣma is describing signs and consequences of societal decline, using the example of men entering unions deemed improper and begetting offspring through ‘unsuitable’ relations.