Shloka 114
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
शद्राश्न ब्राह्मणीं भार्यामुपयास्यन्ति निर्भया: । वियोनिषु विमोक्ष्यन्ति बीजानि पुरुषा यदा
śūdrāś ca brāhmaṇīṁ bhāryām upayāsyanti nirbhayāḥ | viyoniṣu vimokṣyanti bījāni puruṣā yadā ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Cuando los hombres, despojados de temor y freno, se acerquen a una mujer brāhmaṇa para tomarla por esposa pese a ser del orden śūdra, entonces derramarán su semilla en vientres impropios. Tal transgresión de los límites sociales y éticos se presenta aquí como señal de desorden moral y confusión del dharma».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames unrestrained crossing of prescribed marital boundaries as a symptom of adharma, warning that ethical and social norms around marriage and procreation, when disregarded, lead to disorder and confusion of duties.
In the Śānti Parva’s dharma-discourse, Bhīṣma is describing signs and consequences of societal decline, using the example of men entering unions deemed improper and begetting offspring through ‘unsuitable’ relations.