Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 25
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
वही पापिष्ठा स्त्री जब चाण्डालसे समागम करती है तब पुल्कस जातिको जन्म देती है। पुल्कस गधे, घोड़े और हाथीके मांस खाते हैं। वे मुर्दोपर चढ़े हुए कफन लेकर पहनते और फूटे बर्तनमें भोजन करते हैं ।।
āyogavīṣu jāyante hīṇavarṇās tu te trayaḥ | kṣudro vaidehakād andhro bahigrāmapratiśrayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “From unions regarded as irregular, three socially degraded groups are said to arise. They are described as of diminished status, living on the outskirts beyond the village boundary, and associated with lowly occupations—an account framed within the text’s discourse on social order and the consequences ascribed to transgressing prescribed norms.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Within the Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic framework, the verse presents a normative claim that departures from prescribed social-marital rules are believed to produce marginalized groups who live outside the village—used to reinforce adherence to the text’s idealized social order.
Bhishma, instructing on dharma and social regulations, enumerates groups said to arise from certain unions and characterizes their social location as outside the village boundary, continuing a broader discussion on conduct and societal classifications.