Shloka 15
Varṇasaṃkara: Causes, Classifications, and Conduct-based Recognition (वर्णसंकरः—हेतु-जाति-आचारनिर्णयः)
दौहित्रकेण धर्मेण नाज पश्यामि कारणम् । विक्रीतासु हि ये पुत्रा भवन्ति पितुरेव ते
dauhitrakeṇa dharmeṇa nāhaṁ paśyāmi kāraṇam | vikrītāsu hi yāḥ kanyāḥ tāsu jāyante ye sutāḥ pitur eva te ||
Bhishma berkata: “Aku tidak melihat alasan yang munasabah untuk menerapkan kaedah ‘dauhitraka’ di sini. Kerana apabila anak perempuan diberikan dengan menerima harga, anak-anak lelaki yang lahir daripadanya hanyalah milik dan pewaris kepada bapa mereka; maka tiada asas yang adil untuk menjadikan mereka ahli waris kepada harta datuk sebelah ibu menurut prinsip dauhitraka.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma argues that the dauhitraka principle (inheritance through a daughter’s son) should not be invoked when the daughter has been transferred for a price; in such a case, the son is treated as belonging solely to the father’s line, so claiming the maternal grandfather’s property lacks justification.
In Anushasana Parva’s dharma-discourse, Bhishma is clarifying rules of kinship and inheritance. Here he rejects extending a daughter’s-son inheritance claim to a situation involving a ‘sold’ daughter, emphasizing how the mode of marriage/transfer affects lineage and property rights.