Shloka 20
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
पाणिग्रहीता चान्य: स्यात् कस्य भार्या पितामह | तत्त्वं जिज्ञासमानानां चक्षुर्भवतु नो भवान्,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--पितामह! यदि एक मनुष्यने विवाह पक्का करके कन्याका मूल्य दे दिया हो, दूसरेने मूल्य देनेका वादा करके विवाह पक्का किया हो, तीसरा उसी कन्याको बलपूर्वक ले जानेकी बात कर रहा हो, चौथा उसके भाई-बन्धुओंको विशेष धनका लोभ दिखाकर ब्याह करनेको तैयार हो और पाँचवाँ उसका पाणिग्रहण कर चुका हो तो धर्मतः उसकी कन्या किसकी पत्नी मानी जायगी? हमलोग इस विषयमें यथार्थ तत्त्वको जानना चाहते हैं। आप हमारे लिये नेत्र (पथ-प्रदर्शक) हों
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
pāṇigrahītā cānyaḥ syāt kasya bhāryā pitāmaha |
tattvaṃ jijñāsamānānāṃ cakṣur bhavatu no bhavān ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Grandfather, in a case where one man has secured the marriage by paying the bride-price, another has secured it by promising payment, a third seeks to carry the girl off by force, a fourth tries to win the consent of her kinsmen by offering them special wealth, and a fifth has already taken her hand in the marriage rite—by the standard of dharma, whose wife is she to be regarded as? We wish to know the true principle in this matter; be our eyes and guide.”
युधिछिर उवाच