Shloka 9
Varṇasaṃkara: Causes, Classifications, and Conduct-based Recognition (वर्णसंकरः—हेतु-जाति-आचारनिर्णयः)
भार्यापत्योर्हि सम्बन्ध: स्त्रीपुंसो: स्वल्प एव तु । रति: साधारणो धर्म इति चाह स पार्थिव:
bhāryāpatyor hi sambandhaḥ strīpuṃsoḥ svalpa eva tu | ratiḥ sādhāraṇo dharma iti cāha sa pārthivaḥ ||
स्त्री-पुरुषांचा, म्हणजेच पत्नी-पतीचा संबंध अत्यंत सूक्ष्म व मर्यादित आहे. रति हा त्यांचा साधारण धर्म आहे—असे त्या राजानेही सांगितले होते.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that conjugal intimacy (rati) is not outside dharma but a shared, regulated duty within household life; the marital bond must be understood ethically, with restraint and responsibility rather than mere indulgence.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instructional discourse, Bhīṣma continues advising on norms of conduct; here he cites a royal statement to characterize the nature of the man–woman (husband–wife) relationship and its place within dharma.