Shloka 29
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
कस्मात् तु विषमं भागं भजेरन् नृपसत्तम | यदा सर्वे त्रयो वर्णास्त्वियोक्ता ब्राह्मणा इति
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kasmāt tu viṣamaṃ bhāgaṃ bhajeran nṛpasattama | yadā sarve trayo varṇās tvayoktā brāhmaṇā iti ||
युधिष्ठिर म्हणाला— हे नृपश्रेष्ठ! जेव्हा आपण ब्राह्मण इत्यादी तीन वर्णांच्या स्त्रियांपासून जन्मलेल्या पुत्रांना ब्राह्मणच म्हटले आहे, तेव्हा त्यांनी पितृधनात विषम वाटा का घ्यावा? त्यांना समान भाग का मिळू नये?
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-based challenge: if a person’s recognized status is the same (here, being declared ‘Brāhmaṇa’), then justice demands consistency in rights—especially regarding inheritance—so unequal distribution requires a clear ethical and legal justification.
Yudhiṣṭhira questions a senior royal authority about rules of inheritance. He points out an apparent contradiction between declaring certain sons as Brāhmaṇas and yet assigning them unequal shares of paternal property, pressing for a coherent dharma rationale.