Shloka 7
भीष्म उवाच ब्राह्मण: क्षत्रियो वैश्यस्त्रयो वर्णा द्विजातय: । एतेषु विहितो धर्मों ब्राह्मणस्य युधिष्ठिर,भीष्मजीने कहा--युथिष्छिर! ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय और वैश्य--ये तीनों वर्ण द्विजाति कहलाते हैं; अतः इन तीन वर्णोमें ही ब्राह्मणका विवाह धर्मतः विहित है
bhīṣma uvāca | brāhmaṇaḥ kṣatriyo vaiśyas trayo varṇā dvijātayaḥ | eteṣu vihito dharmo brāhmaṇasya yudhiṣṭhira |
Bhishma said: “O Yudhishthira, the Brahmin, the Kshatriya, and the Vaishya—these three classes are called ‘twice-born’ (dvija). Therefore, it is within these three that the Brahmin’s marriage is prescribed by dharma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma defines the ‘twice-born’ (dvija) as the three varnas—Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Vaishya—and states that a Brahmin’s marriage is dharmically prescribed within these groups.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he is laying down normative social-religious rules, here specifying the accepted marital sphere for a Brahmin according to traditional dharma.