Shloka 5
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
परं शवाद् ब्राह्मणस्यैव पुत्र: शूद्रापुत्रं पारशवं तमाहु: । शुश्रूषक: स्वस्य कुलस्य स स्यात् स्वचारित्रं नित्यमथो न जह्यात्
paraṁ śavād brāhmaṇasyaiva putraḥ śūdrāputraṁ pāraśavaṁ tam āhuḥ | śuśrūṣakaḥ svasya kulasya sa syāt svacāritraṁ nityam atho na jahyāt ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—शूद्रेच्या गर्भातून ब्राह्मणाचा जो पुत्र जन्मतो, तो ‘शव’ (पतित शूद्र) यापेक्षा श्रेष्ठ मानला आहे; म्हणून ऋषी त्याला ‘पारशव’ म्हणतात. त्याने आपल्या कुलाची सेवा करावी आणि हा सेवाधर्मरूप आचार कधीही सोडू नये.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-śāstra style norm: a person identified as Pāraśava (Brahmin father, Śūdra mother) is assigned a life of service to the family/lineage and is urged to maintain that customary discipline without abandoning it.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on social and ethical duties. Here he explains a specific mixed-varṇa designation (Pāraśava) and prescribes the conduct expected of such a person—namely, continued service within the household/lineage.