Shloka 11
अनुपष्नन् पितुर्दायं जड्घाश्रमफलोडध्वग: । स्वयमीहितलब्धं तु नाकामो दातुमहति,यदि बड़ा भाई पैतृक धनको हानि पहुँचाये बिना ही केवल जाँघोंके परिश्रमसे परदेशमें जाकर धन पैदा करे तो वह उसके निजी परिश्रमकी कमाई है। अतः यदि उसकी इच्छा न हो तो वह उस धनमेंसे भाइयोंको नहीं दे सकता है
anupṛśnan pitur dāyaṃ jaṅghāśramaphalodvahaḥ | svayam īhitalabdhaṃ tu nākāmo dātum arhati ||
Bhīṣma said: If an elder brother, without diminishing or encroaching upon the paternal inheritance, goes abroad and acquires wealth solely through the toil of his own legs—by his own effort and labor—then that wealth is the fruit of his personal striving. Therefore, if he has no wish to give it, he is not bound to share that self-earned wealth with his brothers.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes ancestral inheritance from wealth earned by one’s own effort. If an elder brother earns money independently without harming the paternal estate, he is not dharmically compelled to share that self-acquired wealth with his brothers unless he chooses to.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (especially duties and norms concerning family and property), he addresses a practical case: an elder brother travels and earns through personal labor. Bhishma clarifies the ethical-legal status of such earnings as personal property rather than divisible patrimony.