Shloka 28
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
ब्राह्मण्यां ब्राह्मणाज्जातो ब्राह्मण: स्यान्न संशय: । क्षत्रियायां तथैव स्याद् वैश्यायामपि चैव हि
brāhmaṇyāṃ brāhmaṇāj jāto brāhmaṇaḥ syān na saṃśayaḥ | kṣatriyāyāṃ tathaiva syād vaiśyāyām api caiva hi ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Seorang putra yang lahir dari ayah brāhmaṇa dan ibu brāhmaṇī pastilah brāhmaṇa—tanpa keraguan. Demikian pula, sekalipun ia lahir dari perempuan kṣatriya atau perempuan vaiśya, ia tetap dipandang sebagai brāhmaṇa.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a lineage-based view of varṇa: the child’s status as brāhmaṇa is affirmed primarily through the brāhmaṇa father, even if the mother is kṣatriya or vaiśya, emphasizing paternal descent in defining social-religious identity.
In the Anuśāsana-parvan’s dharma discussions, Yudhiṣṭhira raises or states a principle about birth and varṇa classification, framing how offspring are regarded when a brāhmaṇa father has children with women of different varṇas.