Shloka 10
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
विप्रायां क्षत्रियो बाह्ूं सूतं स्तोमक्रियापरम् । वैश्यो वैदेहक॑ चापि मौद्गल्यमपवर्जितम्
viprāyāṃ kṣatriyo bāhūṃ sūtaṃ stomakriyāparam | vaiśyo vaidehakaṃ cāpi maudgalyam apavarjitam ||
Bhīṣma said: When a Kṣatriya has union with a Brāhmaṇī, a son is born called a Sūta—held to stand outside the regular varṇa order, and by custom living through praise-recitation and allied service (such as charioteering). Likewise, when a Vaiśya has union with a Brāhmaṇī, a son is born called a Vaidehaka—deemed fallen from the prescribed rites and employed in inner-apartment and protective duties; for this reason he is also termed Maudgalya.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a normative dharma-style classification of offspring and occupations arising from unions across varṇa boundaries, emphasizing how traditional social theory links lineage, ritual status (saṃskāra), and prescribed work.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Anushasana Parva, he enumerates categories such as Sūta and Vaidehaka (also called Maudgalya) and assigns them customary functions, as part of a broader discourse on social duties and order.