Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 15
Varṇasaṃkara: Causes, Classifications, and Conduct-based Recognition (वर्णसंकरः—हेतु-जाति-आचारनिर्णयः)
दौहित्रकेण धर्मेण नाज पश्यामि कारणम् । विक्रीतासु हि ये पुत्रा भवन्ति पितुरेव ते
dauhitrakeṇa dharmeṇa nāhaṁ paśyāmi kāraṇam | vikrītāsu hi yāḥ kanyāḥ tāsu jāyante ye sutāḥ pitur eva te ||
भीष्म ने कहा—यहाँ ‘दौहित्रक-धर्म’ लागू करने का कोई कारण मैं नहीं देखता। क्योंकि जो कन्याएँ मूल्य लेकर बेची गई हों, उनसे उत्पन्न पुत्र केवल अपने पिता के ही होते हैं; अतः उन्हें नाना के धन का अधिकारी ठहराना न्यायसंगत नहीं।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma argues that the dauhitraka principle (inheritance through a daughter’s son) should not be invoked when the daughter has been transferred for a price; in such a case, the son is treated as belonging solely to the father’s line, so claiming the maternal grandfather’s property lacks justification.
In Anushasana Parva’s dharma-discourse, Bhishma is clarifying rules of kinship and inheritance. Here he rejects extending a daughter’s-son inheritance claim to a situation involving a ‘sold’ daughter, emphasizing how the mode of marriage/transfer affects lineage and property rights.