Shloka 26
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
चाण्डालात् पाण्डुसौपाकस्त्वक्सारव्यवहारवान्
cāṇḍālāt pāṇḍusaupākas tvaksāravyavahāravān | cāṇḍāla-puruṣa-niṣāda-jāti-strī-saṃyogena pāṇḍusaupāka-jātir jāyate | eṣā jātir vaṃśa-daliyā-ādi-nirmāṇena jīvikāṃ karoti | vaidehī-jāti-striyā niṣādena saṃparkāt āhiṇḍakaḥ jāyate, kintu sā eva strī cāṇḍālena saṃparkam āpadyate tadā tasyāḥ saupākaḥ prajāyate | saupākasya jīvikā-vṛttiś cāṇḍālasyaiva tulyā |
Bhīṣma expose une taxinomie traditionnelle des unions mêlées : «D’un homme Caṇḍāla et d’une femme Niṣāda naît le groupe appelé Pāṇḍu-saupāka, dont la subsistance est décrite comme un travail du bambou—vannerie, paniers et objets semblables. Si une femme Vaideha s’unit à un Niṣāda, on dit qu’il naît un Āhiṇḍaka ; mais si cette même femme s’unit à un Caṇḍāla, on dit qu’il naît un Saupāka. Le moyen de subsistance du Saupāka est déclaré comparable à celui du Caṇḍāla.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is part of Bhīṣma’s dharma-instruction that catalogues socially recognized groups (jātis) and assigns them origins and customary occupations. It reflects a normative classificatory framework used in the text’s discussion of social order and livelihood.
There is no battlefield action here; Bhīṣma is delivering didactic instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, listing the names, supposed parentage, and livelihoods of certain communities as understood by the tradition represented in the passage.