Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 17
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
अब्राह्माणं तु मन्यन्ते शूद्रापुत्रमनैपुणात् । त्रिषु वर्णेषु जातो हि ब्राह्मणाद् ब्राह्मणो भवेत्
abhāhmaṇaṁ tu manyante śūdrāputram anaipuṇāt | triṣu varṇeṣu jāto hi brāhmaṇād brāhmaṇo bhavet ||
भीष्म बोले—ब्राह्मण से शूद्रा के गर्भ से जो पुत्र उत्पन्न होता है, उसे ब्राह्मण नहीं मानते; क्योंकि उसमें ब्राह्मणोचित निपुणता नहीं पायी जाती। परन्तु शेष तीन वर्णों की स्त्रियों से ब्राह्मण द्वारा जो पुत्र उत्पन्न होता है, वह ब्राह्मण होता है।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a normative rule about social recognition (varṇa-status): a child’s acceptance as ‘brāhmaṇa’ is linked to perceived brāhmaṇa-qualities (naipuṇya) and, in the stated scheme, to paternity by a brāhmaṇa across unions with women of other varṇas, while excluding the son of a Śūdra woman from brāhmaṇa recognition.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and social norms. Here he addresses rules of lineage and varṇa-classification, explaining how certain births were traditionally categorized and socially acknowledged.