Shloka 18
च्यवन-कुशिक-संवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Hospitality, Service, and Lineage Questions
क्वचिच्च कृतक: पुत्र: संग्रहादेव लक्ष्यते । न तत्र रेत: क्षेत्र वा यत्र लक्ष्येत भारत
kvacic ca kṛtakaḥ putraḥ saṃgrahād eva lakṣyate | na tatra retaḥ kṣetra vā yatra lakṣyeta bhārata ||
कधी कधी ‘कृतक’ (कृत्रिम/दत्तक) पुत्र केवळ संग्रह—म्हणजे स्वीकार करून आपला मानणे—यामुळेच पुत्र म्हणून ओळखला जातो. हे भारत, तेथे ना वीर्य, ना क्षेत्र; जिथे स्वीकारच लक्षण ठरते, तिथे यांची चौकशी होत नाही.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that in certain dharma-legal situations, social and ritual recognition of sonship can rest on formal acceptance (saṃgraha) rather than biological paternity or maternity; the ethical emphasis is on acknowledged responsibility and established status within the family order.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma explains categories of sons and principles of lineage and inheritance to Yudhiṣṭhira. Here he notes that a ‘kṛtaka’ (constituted/adopted) son is identified by being taken and accepted, without requiring proof of ‘seed’ or ‘field’.