Shloka 15
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
शूद्रायां ब्राह्म॒णाज्जातो नित्यादेयधन: स्मृतः । अल्पं चापि प्रदातव्यं शूद्रापुत्राय भारत
śūdrāyāṁ brāhmaṇāj jāto nityādeyadhanaḥ smṛtaḥ | alpaṁ cāpi pradātavyaṁ śūdrāputrāya bhārata ||
Bhishma said: “A son born to a Brahmin from a Shudra woman is traditionally regarded as one whose property is subject to obligatory taking (that is, not fully protected by the usual claims of ownership). And, O Bharata, even to the son of a Shudra, only a small gift should be given.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a traditional normative rule about social status affecting property rights and the scale of gifts: a son born of a Brāhmaṇa by a Śūdra woman is described as having wealth that is ‘always liable to be taken/levied,’ and gifts to a Śūdra’s son are advised to be small—reflecting a hierarchy-based dharma framework in this section on conduct and giving.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including rules concerning dāna (gift-giving) and social regulations. Here he articulates a prescriptive tradition about how gifts and property are to be treated in relation to varṇa and birth.