Mahabharata — Adi Parva, Shloka 34
कृपकृपी-जननम्
The Birth of Kṛpa and Kṛpī; Kṛpa’s Attainment of Astras
दत्त: क्रीतः कृत्रिमश्न॒ उपगच्छेत् स्वयं च यः । सहोढो ज्ञातिरेताश्व हीनयोनिधृतश्च यः
dattaḥ krītaḥ kṛtrimāś ca upagacchet svayaṃ ca yaḥ | sahūḍho jñātiretāś ca hīnayoni-dhṛtaś ca yaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “These are regarded as sons who are not heirs by bloodline (abandhu-dāyāda): (1) the ‘given’ son—one formally handed over by his parents; (2) the ‘purchased’ son—one obtained by payment; (3) the ‘artificial/adopted by choice’ son—one who comes of his own accord saying, ‘I am your son’; (4) the sahūḍha son—born from the womb of a bride who was already pregnant at the time of marriage; (5) the jñātiretā son—begotten by a kinsman within the family line; and (6) the son borne by a woman of lower social origin. All these are classed as non-agnatic heirs.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies certain socially recognized forms of sonship that do not arise from direct blood descent, indicating how dharma-text traditions distinguished between biological lineage and legally/socially constituted heirs for purposes such as inheritance and family continuity.
Vaiśampāyana is enumerating categories of ‘sons’ acknowledged in traditional legal-ethical discourse, explaining which kinds are considered non-agnatic heirs (abandhu-dāyāda) and defining each type by the manner of acquisition or birth circumstances.