Shloka 28
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
युधिछिर उवाच कन्यायां प्राप्तशुल्कायां ज्यायांश्वैदाव्रजेद् वर: । धर्मकामार्थसम्पन्नो वाच्यमत्रानृतं न वा
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kanyāyāṃ prāptaśulkāyāṃ jyāyān vai dāvrājed varaḥ | dharmakāmārthasampanno vācyam atrānṛtaṃ na vā ||
ユディシュティラは言った。「祖父よ、ある乙女についてすでに花嫁代（聘礼）が受け取られ、婚姻が定まったと見なされているのに、その後、より優れた婿—ダルマと繁栄と正当な欲とを備えた、まことに相応しい者—が現れたなら、この件では虚言を用いるべきでしょうか、否でしょうか。すなわち、代価を受け取った後で先の求婚者を退け、乙女を与えぬことは許されるのでしょうか。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-conflict: whether truthfulness and honoring an accepted marital agreement outweigh the practical advantage of choosing a later, superior match. It asks if falsehood or denial can ever be justified when prior commitment (sealed by accepting śulka) exists.
Yudhiṣṭhira, in dialogue with Bhīṣma (the grandsire), poses a legal-ethical question about marriage customs: after accepting a bride-price and thereby confirming a match, can the family retract the promise if a better-qualified suitor appears, and would such retraction require or constitute untruth?