Shloka 48
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
अस्मिन्नर्थे सत्यवन्तं पर्यपृच्छन्त वै जना: । कन्याया: प्राप्तशुल्काया: शुल्कद: प्रशमं गत:
asminn arthe satyavantaṃ paryapṛcchanta vai janāḥ | kanyāyāḥ prāptaśulkāyāḥ śulkadaḥ praśamaṃ gataḥ |
Bhīṣma dit : « À ce sujet, les gens d’autrefois interrogèrent Satyavān : “Ô grand sage, si le prix nuptial d’une jeune fille a déjà été reçu, et que l’homme qui devait le verser meurt ensuite, un autre peut-il accomplir le rite du mariage — prendre sa main (pāṇigrahaṇa) — ou non ? Un doute concernant le dharma s’est levé en nous. Dissipe-le, car tu es honoré des sages.” »
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-question about marriage validity and obligation: when a bride-price has been accepted but the payer dies, does the prior transaction authorize another man to marry the maiden, or must the arrangement be reconsidered? It highlights that social contracts around marriage are subordinate to dharma and require authoritative clarification.
Bhīṣma introduces an older precedent: people once approached Satyavān with a legal-ethical doubt concerning a maiden whose bride-price had been received, but whose intended payer died. They request Satyavān—respected by the learned—to resolve their uncertainty about whether another person may perform her pāṇigrahaṇa (marriage hand-taking).