Shloka 37
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
ब्राह्मण्या: सदृश: पुत्र: क्षत्रियायाश्व यो भवेत् राजन् विशेषो यस्त्वत्र वर्णयोरुभयोरपि,राजन! ब्राह्मणके समान ही जो क्षत्रियाका पुत्र होगा, उसमें भी उभयवर्णसम्बन्धी अन्तर तो रहेगा ही
brāhmaṇyāḥ sadṛśaḥ putraḥ kṣatriyāyāś ca yo bhavet, rājan viśeṣo yas tv atra varṇayor ubhayor api.
Bhīṣma dijo: “Oh rey, aun si un hijo nacido de una mujer kṣatriya se asemeja a un brāhmaṇa en cualidades, aquí permanece una distinción vinculada a ambas varṇas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma emphasizes that resemblance in qualities to another varṇa does not erase the social-ethical distinction arising from mixed varṇa connection; both lineal association and recognized varṇa markers are treated as significant in this discussion.
In his instruction to the king, Bhīṣma is clarifying a point about varṇa-related identity: even when a child appears or behaves like a Brāhmaṇa, if born from a Kṣatriya woman, a dual-varṇa distinction is still acknowledged in the framework being explained.