Shloka 46
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
न चैतेभ्य: प्रदातव्या न वोढव्या तथाविधा । न होव भार्या क्रेतव्या न विक्रय्या कथंचन,'ऐसे लोगोंको कन्या नहीं देनी चाहिये और जो बेची जा रही हो ऐसी कनन््याके साथ विवाह नहीं करना चाहिये; क्योंकि भार्या किसी प्रकार भी खरीदने या विक्रय करनेकी वस्तु नहीं है
na caitebhyaḥ pradātavyā na voḍhavyā tathāvidhā | naiva bhāryā kretavyā na vikrayyā kathaṃcana ||
Bhīṣma said: “A daughter should not be given in marriage to such men, nor should one marry a girl who is being ‘sold’ in that manner; for a wife is never, under any circumstance, an object to be bought or sold.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that marriage must not treat a woman as property: a wife is not a commodity, so buying or selling in the context of marriage is ethically condemned, and alliances with those who practice it should be avoided.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma, he lays down a rule about proper marital conduct: do not give one’s daughter to men of such conduct, and do not accept a bride through a transaction resembling sale, because it violates the moral status of marriage.