Shloka 24
च्यवन-कुशिक-संवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Hospitality, Service, and Lineage Questions
तदगोत्रबन्धुजं तस्य कुर्यात् संस्कारमच्युत । अथ देया तु कन्या स्यात् तद्वर्णस्य युधिछ्िर
tad-agotra-bandhujaṁ tasya kuryāt saṁskāram acyuta | atha deyā tu kanyā syāt tad-varṇasya yudhiṣṭhira ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Oh Yudhiṣṭhira, firme en el dharma: deben hacérsele los saṃskāra como se hacen a los parientes del padre adoptivo que pertenecen al mismo gotra; y después, debe dársele en matrimonio una doncella del mismo varṇa».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that a dependent or fostered person should be integrated into the guardian’s kin-structure through appropriate saṁskāras, and then settled in life through a socially appropriate marriage within the same varṇa—emphasizing orderly dharma, social responsibility, and continuity of rites.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he gives a practical rule: perform the customary rites for someone under one’s care as one would for one’s own same-gotra relatives, and arrange a suitable marriage for him within the same varṇa.