Shloka 12
च्यवन-कुशिक-संवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Hospitality, Service, and Lineage Questions
युधिछिर उवाच क्षेत्रजं केचिदेवाहुः सुतं केचित्तु शुक्रजम् । तुल्यावेतौ सुतौ कस्य सन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kṣetrajñaṁ kecid evāhuḥ sutaṁ kecit tu śukrajam | tulyāv etau sutau kasya san me brūhi pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Grand-père, certains déclarent qu’un fils est “né du champ” (kṣetraja), parce qu’il est né du ventre de l’épouse ; d’autres soutiennent que seul le “né de la semence” (retaja), engendré par le sperme de l’homme, est véritablement un fils. Ces deux fils ont-ils un rang égal ? À qui chacun appartient-il de droit ? Dis-le-moi clairement.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma inquiry into the basis of sonship: whether social-legal fatherhood is grounded in the wife’s ‘field’ (marital womb) or in biological ‘seed’ (semen). It sets up an ethical discussion about legitimacy, rights, and responsibility—who is entitled to claim the child and who must uphold duties toward him.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira seeks Bhīṣma’s authoritative guidance on dharma. Here he asks a pointed question about competing definitions of a ‘son’—kṣetrajā (field-born) and śukrajā (seed-born)—and requests a clear ruling on their equivalence and rightful affiliation.