Shloka 45
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
प्रसिद्ध भाषितं दाने नैषां प्रत्यायकं पुन: । ये मन्यन्ते क्रयं शुल्क न ते धर्मविदो नरा:,“कन्यादानके विषयमें तो लोगोंका कथन भी प्रसिद्ध है” अर्थात् सब लोग यही कहते हैं कि कन्यादान हुआ है। अतः जो शुल्कसे ही विवाह निश्चय मानते हैं उनके कथनकी प्रतीति करानेवाला कोई प्रमाण उपलब्ध नहीं होता। जो क्रय और शुल्कको मान्यता देते हैं वे मनुष्य धर्मज्ञ नहीं हैं
bhīṣma uvāca | prasiddhaṃ bhāṣitaṃ dāne naiṣāṃ pratyāyakaṃ punaḥ | ye manyante krayaṃ śulkaṃ na te dharmavido narāḥ |
Bhishma said: “In the matter of gifting (especially the gift of a maiden), a well-known saying is current among people: everyone speaks of it as ‘a gift of the daughter.’ Therefore, for those who treat a marriage as established merely by a fee or purchase-price, there is no reliable proof that can truly validate their claim. Men who accept ‘purchase’ and ‘bride-price’ as authoritative are not knowers of dharma.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Marriage involving a daughter should be understood in the ethical frame of dāna (gift), not as a commercial transaction; treating it as purchase or fee-based undermines dharma and lacks true moral authority.
Bhishma is instructing on dharma and social conduct, rejecting the idea that a marriage is validated by payment (śulka/kraya) and affirming the culturally and morally recognized notion of kanyādāna (giving the maiden) as the proper understanding.