Shloka 18

Devanagari script

असपिण्डा च या मातुरसगोत्रा च या पितु: । इत्येतामनुगच्छेत तं धर्म मनुरब्रवीत्‌,जो कन्या माताकी सपिण्ड और पिताके गोत्रकी न हो, उसीका अनुगमन करे। इसे मनुजीने धर्मानुकूल बताया है?

Transliteration

asapiṇḍā ca yā mātur asagotrā ca yā pituḥ | ity etām anugacchet taṃ dharmaṃ manur abravīt ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “One should follow (choose in marriage) that maiden who is not a sapinda relative on the mother’s side and who is not of the same gotra on the father’s side. Manu has declared this to be the rule of dharma.”

Word by Word

असपिण्डाnot a sapinda (not within prohibited kinship)

चand

याwho/which (woman)

मातुःof the mother

असगोत्राnot of the same gotra

चand

याwho/which (woman)

पितुःof the father

इतिthus

एताम्this (woman)

अनुगच्छेत्should follow/should marry

तम्that

धर्मम्dharma; rule of righteousness

मनुःManu

अब्रवीत्said/declared

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Manu

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse states a dharma-based guideline for marriage: a bride should be outside prohibited kinship—specifically, not a sapinda relative through the mother’s line and not of the same gotra as the father’s line—citing Manu as authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and social duties. Here he quotes Manu to support a normative rule about permissible marital relations, emphasizing avoidance of close kin and same-gotra unions.