Shloka 55
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
सो5पि दत्तं हरेत् पित्रा नादत्तं हर्तुमरहति । त्रिभिर्वर्ण: सदा जात: शूद्रोडदेयधनो भवेत्,वह भी पिताके देनेपर ही उस धनको ले सकता है। बिना दिया हुआ धन लेनेका उसे कोई अधिकार नहीं है। तीनों वर्णोंसे उत्पन्न हुआ शूद्र सदा धन न देनेके योग्य ही होता है
so 'pi dattaṃ haret pitrā nādattaṃ hartum arhati | tribhir varṇaiḥ sadā jātaḥ śūdro 'deyadhano bhavet ||
Bhīṣma said: “Even he may take only what has been expressly given by the father; he has no right to seize what has not been given. A Śūdra born from the intermixture of the three higher varṇas is, as a rule, one to whom wealth is not to be entrusted or given.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Only what is explicitly granted by the rightful owner (here, the father) may be taken; taking what is not given is unauthorized. The verse also states a normative rule about entrusting wealth in the context of varṇa-based social classifications discussed in this section on dharma.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he lays down rules concerning rightful taking/receiving of property—especially in familial and social contexts—emphasizing consent (what is ‘given’) versus seizure (what is ‘not given’).