Shloka 34
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
क्योंकि इस प्रकार जो कन्याके लिये आभूषण लेकर कन्यादान किया जाता है, वह न तो मूल्य है और न विक्रय ही; इसलिये कन्याके लिये कोई वस्तु स्वीकार करके कन्याका दान करना सनातन धर्म है ।। दास्यामि भवते कन्यामिति पूर्व न भाषितम् । ये चाहुयें च नाहुयें ये चावश्यं वदन्त्युत,जो लोग भिन्न-भिन्न व्यक्तियोंसे कहते हैं कि 'मैं आपको अपनी कन्या दूँगा", जो कहते हैं “नहीं दूँगा! और जो कहते हैं “अवश्य दूँगा' उनकी ये सभी बातें कन्या देनेके पहले नही कही हुई के ही तुल्य हैं
bhīṣma uvāca | evaṃ hi yā kanyāyāḥ kṛte bhūṣaṇāni gṛhītvā kanyādānaṃ kriyate, na tat mūlyaṃ na ca vikrayaḥ; tasmāt kanyāyāḥ kṛte kiñcid vastu pratigṛhya kanyādānaṃ sanātano dharmaḥ || dāsyāmi bhavate kanyām iti pūrvaṃ na bhāṣitam | ye cāhuyeṃ ca nāhuyeṃ ye cāvaśyaṃ vadanty uta, teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ vacanāni kanyā-dānāt pūrvaṃ na uktavat-tulyāni ||
Bhishma said: When ornaments are taken on the occasion of giving a maiden in marriage, that is neither a ‘price’ nor a ‘sale’; therefore, accepting some customary gift for the maiden and then giving her is held to be an ancient rule of dharma. But the words, “I will give you my daughter,” are not to be treated as firmly spoken beforehand: whether people say to different suitors “I will give,” or “I will not give,” or even “I will certainly give,” all such statements, until the actual act of giving the maiden is completed, are regarded as not truly binding.
भीष्य उवाच