Shloka 19
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
तत्तु दत्त हरेत् पित्रा नादत्तं हर्तुमहति । अवश्यं हि धन देयं शूद्रापुत्राय भारत,वह भी पिताके देनेपर ही उसे लेना चाहिये, बिना दिये उसे लेनेका कोई अधिकार नहीं है। भरतनन्दन! किंतु शूद्राके पुत्रको भी धनका भाग अवश्य दे देना चाहिये
tattu dattaṁ haret pitrā nādattaṁ hartum arhati | avaśyaṁ hi dhanaṁ deyaṁ śūdrāputrāya bhārata ||
Bhishma said: “Only what has been formally given by the father may be taken; what has not been given, one is not entitled to seize. Yet, O Bharata, a share of wealth must certainly be allotted to the son of a Shudra woman as well.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Property should be taken only through rightful allotment by the father; unauthorized appropriation is unethical. At the same time, fairness in distribution is emphasized by requiring that even a son born of a Shudra woman receive an assured share.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and social/legal duties, he lays down a rule about inheritance and entitlement: one may accept what is granted, not seize what is ungranted, while also prescribing an obligatory provision for a śūdrāputra.