Shloka 52
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
देवरं प्रविशेत् कन्या तप्येद् वापि तप: पुन: । तमेवानुगता भूत्वा पाणिग्राहस्य काम्यया
devaraṃ praviśet kanyā tapyed vāpi tapaḥ punaḥ | tamevānugatā bhūtvā pāṇigrāhasya kāmyayā ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: Si muere el hombre que pagó el precio de la novia, la doncella debe unirse al hermano menor de él (como esposo conforme al dharma), o bien emprender de nuevo austeridades, permaneciendo en pensamiento fiel a ese mismo novio, con el deseo de alcanzarlo (aun en otro nacimiento) y viviendo toda la vida como doncella.
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
When a marriage arrangement is disrupted by the death of the bridegroom (the one who paid the bride-price), dharma offers two sanctioned paths: accept the younger brother as husband to preserve familial continuity, or maintain chastity and practice austerity with steadfast fidelity to the intended husband, aspiring to reunion even beyond this life.
In Bhishma’s instruction on conduct and social-religious law, he addresses the proper course for a maiden whose intended husband dies after paying the bride-price, outlining either a substitute marriage within the same family (with the devara) or a life of ascetic fidelity.