Shloka 26
च्यवन-कुशिक-संवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Hospitality, Service, and Lineage Questions
तावपि स्वाविव सुतौ संस्कार्याविति निश्चय: । क्षेत्रजो वाप्यपसदो ये<वध्यूढास्तेषु चाप्युत
tāv api svāv iva sutau saṃskāryāv iti niścayaḥ | kṣetrajō vāpy apasado ye ’vadhyūḍhās teṣu cāpy uta ||
Bhishma said: “For those two sons as well, the authoritative conclusion is that they should be given the saṃskāras as if they were one’s own. Indeed, whether a son is kṣetraja, apasada, or avadhyūḍha, the śāstras enjoin that he too should receive the proper saṃskāras. Thus, in matters of varṇa-related rites, this is what the dharma-texts are seen to determine. I have explained all this to you; what more do you wish to hear?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That dharmaśāstra recognizes certain categories of sons (including kṣetraja, apasada, and avadhyūḍha) and, despite their differing origins or social classification, enjoins that they receive the appropriate saṃskāras—rites that confer social-religious standing and duties—treating them, for ritual purposes, like one’s own.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he concludes a discussion on classifications of offspring and their eligibility for rites, stating the śāstric determination and asking what further topic the listener wishes to hear.