Shloka 8
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
वैषम्यादथवा लोभात् कामाद् वापि परंतप । ब्राह्मणस्य भवेच्छूद्रा न तु दृष्टान्तत: स्मृता
vaiṣamyād athavā lobhāt kāmād vāpi paraṃtapa | brāhmaṇasya bhavec chūdrā na tu dṛṣṭāntataḥ smṛtā ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ പരന്തപാ! പക്ഷപാതം, ലോഭം അല്ലെങ്കിൽ കാമം മൂലം ശൂദ്രസ്ത്രീ ബ്രാഹ്മണന്റെ ഭാര്യയായേക്കാം; എന്നാൽ ശാസ്ത്രങ്ങളിൽ ഇത് അംഗീകൃത ദൃഷ്ടാന്തമോ നിയമമോ ആയി സ്മരിക്കപ്പെട്ടിട്ടില്ല।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma distinguishes between what may happen in practice due to bias, greed, or desire and what is actually authorized by śāstra: an occurrence does not automatically become dharma unless supported by recognized scriptural precedent.
In his instruction to the king, Bhishma discusses norms of conduct and social regulation, noting that certain cross-varṇa marital outcomes can occur through human failings, but he denies that such cases are upheld as a formal rule in the remembered tradition.