Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 15
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
शूद्रायां ब्राह्म॒णाज्जातो नित्यादेयधन: स्मृतः । अल्पं चापि प्रदातव्यं शूद्रापुत्राय भारत
śūdrāyāṁ brāhmaṇāj jāto nityādeyadhanaḥ smṛtaḥ | alpaṁ cāpi pradātavyaṁ śūdrāputrāya bhārata ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಶೂದ್ರ ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನಿಂದ ಜನಿಸಿದ ಪುತ್ರನು ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ‘ನಿತ್ಯಾದೇಯಧನ’ ಎಂದು ಸ್ಮರಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಮತ್ತು, ಓ ಭಾರತ, ಶೂದ್ರನ ಪುತ್ರನಿಗೆ ಕೊಡಬೇಕಾದರೂ ಅಲ್ಪ ದಾನವನ್ನೇ ಕೊಡಬೇಕು.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a traditional normative rule about social status affecting property rights and the scale of gifts: a son born of a Brāhmaṇa by a Śūdra woman is described as having wealth that is ‘always liable to be taken/levied,’ and gifts to a Śūdra’s son are advised to be small—reflecting a hierarchy-based dharma framework in this section on conduct and giving.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including rules concerning dāna (gift-giving) and social regulations. Here he articulates a prescriptive tradition about how gifts and property are to be treated in relation to varṇa and birth.