Shloka 7
च्यवन-कुशिक-संवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Hospitality, Service, and Lineage Questions
भीष्म उवाच त्रिषु वर्णेषु ये पुत्रा ब्राह्मणस्य युधिष्ठिर । वर्णयोश्ष द्वयो: स्यातां यौ राजन्यस्य भारत
bhīṣma uvāca |
triṣu varṇeṣu ye putrā brāhmaṇasya yudhiṣṭhira |
varṇayoś ca dvayoḥ syātāṃ yau rājanyasya bhārata ||
Bhishma dijo: «Oh Yudhishthira, los hijos que un brahmán engendra con mujeres de las tres varṇa han de entenderse como tres clases (en esta clasificación). Y, oh Bharata, los hijos de un kshatriya (rājanya) con mujeres de las dos varṇa inferiores a la suya son de dos clases».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma presents a structured, rule-based classification of offspring arising from unions across varṇas, reflecting the text’s dharma-śāstra style concern with lineage, social categories, and the perceived ethical-social implications of marriage and procreation.
During Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira in the Anushasana Parva, he begins enumerating how many ‘types’ of sons are recognized in this scheme for a Brahmin and for a Kshatriya when children are born from women of different varṇas, setting up a longer explanation that continues in subsequent verses.