Shloka 22
सर्वेषामथ तेषां तु गण्डा भूत् कर्मकारिका । शूद्र: पशुसखश्वैव भर्ता चास्या बभूव ह
sarveṣām atha teṣāṁ tu gaṇḍā bhūt karmakārikā | śūdraḥ paśusakhaś caiva bhartā cāsyā babhūva ha ||
Bhīṣma said: “Then, among all those people, Gaṇḍā became a working woman, living by manual service. A Śūdra—one who tended animals—became her husband as well.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse situates a character’s life within social and occupational categories, highlighting how livelihood (work) and marriage are narrated as part of one’s worldly station—often used in the Anuśāsana Parva to frame discussions of dharma, conduct, and social norms.
Bhīṣma continues a descriptive account: Gaṇḍā is said to have become a laboring woman, and a Śūdra who tended animals is stated to have become her husband.