Shloka 150
ज्येष्ठ-कनिष्ठ-धर्मः — Duties of Elders and Juniors
Anuśāsana-parva 108
स््नातां चतुर्थे दिवसे रात्रौ गच्छेद् विचक्षण: । पज्चमे दिवसे नारी षछ्ठे-हनि पुमान् भवेत्
snātāṃ caturthe divase rātrau gacched vicakṣaṇaḥ | pañcame divase nārī ṣaṣṭhe ’hani pumān bhavet |
Bhīṣma dijo: «Un hombre prudente no debe acercarse a una mujer mientras está en su período menstrual, ni llamarla a su lado. Después de que se haya bañado al cuarto día, puede acercarse a ella por la noche. Se dice que la concepción en el quinto día da una hija, y en el sexto un hijo; además, la concepción en una noche par produce un hijo, y en una noche impar una hija.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames a householder rule: avoid sexual approach during menstruation, approach after the fourth-day bath, and it presents traditional beliefs about timing of conception influencing the child’s sex. Ethically, it emphasizes restraint, attentiveness to prescribed purity norms, and regulated marital conduct.
In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma continues instructing Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he gives guidance on marital relations and procreation—when a husband should approach his wife after her menses and what outcomes are traditionally associated with specific days or nights.