Shloka 22
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
दरिद्रश्चनासवर्णश्र॒ ममायमिति पार्थिव: । न दित्सति सुतां तस्मै तां विप्राय सुदर्शनाम्
daridraś cānāsavarṇaś ca mamāyam iti pārthivaḥ | na ditsati sutāṃ tasmai tāṃ viprāya sudarśanām ||
‘ಇವನು ದರಿದ್ರನು; ಮೇಲಾಗಿ ನನ್ನ ವರ್ಣದವನು ಅಲ್ಲ’ ಎಂದುಕೊಂಡ ರಾಜನು, ಆ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನಿಗೆ ತನ್ನ ಪುತ್ರಿ ಸುದರ್ಶನೆಯನ್ನು ವಿವಾಹಕ್ಕೆ ಕೊಡಲು ಇಚ್ಛಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques exclusion based on poverty and varṇa-identification: a ruler’s attachment to status (“not of my class”) can lead to adharma by denying a worthy match or failing in generosity and fairness.
Bhīṣma narrates that a king refuses to give his daughter Sudarśanā to a brāhmaṇa because he considers the man poor and not of the same varṇa as himself.