Shloka 1
Varṇasaṃkara: Causes, Classifications, and Conduct-based Recognition (वर्णसंकरः—हेतु-जाति-आचारनिर्णयः)
/ अपन का बा | अपर ३-स्मृतियोंमें निम्नलिखित आठ विवाह बतलाये गये हैं--ब्राह्म
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kanyāyāḥ prāptaśulkāyāḥ patiḥ na jñāyate kaścana | tatra kā pratipattiḥ syāt tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
ユディシュティラは言った。「祖父よ、ある乙女の花嫁代（婚資）はすでに受け取られているのに、いまは夫となる者がいない—それは代を支払った男が他国へ去り、彼を恐れて他の男が誰も彼女を娶ろうとしないからだ—このとき父はどのように処すべきでしょうか。どうかお教えください。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-legal dilemma: once a bride-price has been accepted, the father’s freedom to remarry the daughter is ethically constrained. Yudhiṣṭhira seeks a principled procedure that protects the maiden’s welfare while respecting obligations created by accepting śulka.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma on rules of conduct. Here he presents a specific case: the bride-price has been taken, but the intended groom is absent and others fear marrying her; he asks Bhīṣma what the father should do next according to dharma.