Shloka 28
ब्राह्मण्यां ब्राह्मणाज्जातो ब्राह्मण: स्यान्न संशय: । क्षत्रियायां तथैव स्याद् वैश्यायामपि चैव हि,ब्राह्मणसे ब्राह्मणीमें उत्पन्न हुआ पुत्र ब्राह्मण हो--इसमें कोई संशय ही नहीं है; वैसे ही क्षत्रिया और वैश्याके गर्भसे उत्पन्न हुए पुत्र भी ब्राह्मण ही होते हैं
brāhmaṇyāṃ brāhmaṇāj jāto brāhmaṇaḥ syān na saṃśayaḥ | kṣatriyāyāṃ tathaiva syād vaiśyāyām api caiva hi ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “A son born of a brāhmaṇa father in a brāhmaṇa woman is certainly a brāhmaṇa—there is no doubt. In the same way, even when born in a kṣatriya woman or in a vaiśya woman, he is still regarded as a brāhmaṇa.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a lineage-based view of varṇa: the child’s status as brāhmaṇa is affirmed primarily through the brāhmaṇa father, even if the mother is kṣatriya or vaiśya, emphasizing paternal descent in defining social-religious identity.
In the Anuśāsana-parvan’s dharma discussions, Yudhiṣṭhira raises or states a principle about birth and varṇa classification, framing how offspring are regarded when a brāhmaṇa father has children with women of different varṇas.