Shloka 26
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
सा हि पुत्रसमा राजन् विहिता कुरुनन्दन । एवमेव समुद्दिष्टो धर्मो वै भरतर्षभ । एवं धर्ममनुस्मृत्य न वृथा साधयेद् धनम्
sā hi putrasamā rājan vihitā kurunandana | evam eva samuddiṣṭo dharmo vai bharatarṣabha | evaṃ dharmam anusmṛtya na vṛthā sādhayed dhanam, kurunandana ||
Bhishma dit : « Ô roi, joie des Kurus, les śāstras ont véritablement établi que la fille est l’égale du fils. Ainsi, ô taureau parmi les Bhārata, la règle juste du partage des richesses a été énoncée. Gardant ce dharma à l’esprit et s’en souvenant, on doit acquérir et amasser des biens non pas en vain, ô Kurunandana, mais veiller à les rendre féconds par des sacrifices et des rites sacrés. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that śāstra recognizes the daughter as equal to the son in principle, and that wealth should be acquired and held in accordance with dharma—made meaningful through righteous distribution and sanctified use (e.g., sacrifices and religious duties), not hoarded fruitlessly.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma continues instructing King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he summarizes a rule concerning rightful division of wealth and urges that wealth be pursued with ethical remembrance and directed toward meritorious ends.