Shloka 23
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
न हाकामेन संवासं मनुरेवं प्रशंसति । अयशस्यथमधर्म्य च यन्मृषा धर्मकोपनम्
na hākāmena saṃvāsaṃ manur evaṃ praśaṃsati | ayaśasyam adharmyaṃ ca yan mṛṣā dharmakopanam ||
Bhishma dit : «Manu n’approuve pas une cohabitation qui ne soit pas voulue par les deux. Aussi, tenter d’annuler un mariage arrêté d’un commun accord est cause d’infamie et d’adharma ; on le tient pour un acte qui sape le dharma lui-même.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cohabitation and marital union should not be forced or one-sided; attempting to overturn a mutually settled marriage is condemned as disgraceful and adharmic, because it destabilizes the moral-legal order (dharma).
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he cites Manu’s authority to frame a rule of ethical conduct regarding marriage: lack of consent and attempts to nullify a socially agreed marriage are treated as violations that damage dharma.