Shloka 13
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
शूद्रादायोगवश्वापि वैश्यायां ग्राम्यधर्मिण: । ब्राह्मणैरप्रतिग्राह्मुस्तक्षा स्व्धनजीवन:
śūdrād āyogavaś cāpi vaiśyāyāṁ grāmyadharmiṇaḥ | brāhmaṇair apratigrāhyaḥ takṣā svadhanajīvanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: Even from a Śūdra who, driven by desire, engages in village-style sexual conduct with a Vaiśya woman, a son is born known as an Āyogava. He lives by the craft of carpentry, sustaining himself on his own earned wealth; Brahmins should not accept gifts from him.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links social conduct and lineage classifications to rules of ritual-social purity, especially the ethics of accepting gifts: Brahmins are advised to avoid receiving donations from certain mixed-lineage groups, even if those groups live by honest labor.
In his instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma describes the offspring produced from a Śūdra man and a Vaiśya woman, names the resulting group as Āyogava, notes their livelihood as carpenters living on self-earned wealth, and states a prescriptive rule that Brahmins should not accept gifts from them.