Vamana Purana — Harihara Revelation, Shloka 34
Harihara Revelation and the Kurukshetra Tirtha Cycle: Sthanu in Vishnu and the Sanctification of Saptasarasvata
ब्रह्मोवाच औरसः क्षेत्रजश्चैव दत्तः कृत्रिम एव च गुढोत्पन्नो ऽपविद्धश्च दायादा बान्धवास्तु षट्
brahmovāca aurasaḥ kṣetrajaścaiva dattaḥ kṛtrima eva ca guḍhotpanno 'paviddhaśca dāyādā bāndhavāstu ṣaṭ
Brahmā said: “The heirs and kinsmen are six: the legitimate son (aurasa), the son begotten on the wife (kṣetraja), the given/adopted son (datta), the made/artificial son (kṛtrima), the secretly born son (guḍhotpanna), and the abandoned son (apaviddha).”
{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
They are related but not identical. Dharmaśāstra traditions often enumerate 12 (or more) putra-types; this passage presents a condensed, functional list emphasizing those treated as dāyāda/bāndhava for inheritance and ritual continuity.
Kṣetraja literally means ‘born in the field (wife)’. It reflects older norms where, under specific conditions, a son could be generated for lineage continuity through an appointed procreator; the child is socially assigned to the husband/lineage of the wife.
The inclusion indicates a dharmic concern for lineage continuity and social incorporation. Even marginal or socially complex origins can be regularized through acceptance, thereby granting the child a place in inheritance and ancestral rites.