Shloka 23
Varṇasaṃkara: Causes, Classifications, and Conduct-based Recognition (वर्णसंकरः—हेतु-जाति-आचारनिर्णयः)
अन्यो>5प्यथ न विक्रेयो मनुष्य: कि पुन: प्रजा: । अधर्ममूलैहि धनैस्तैर्न धर्मोडथ कश्नन
anyo 'py atha na vikreyo manuṣyaḥ; ki punaḥ prajāḥ | adharmamūlaiḥ dhanais tair na dharmo 'tha kaścana ||
Bhishma berkata: Bahkan manusia lain pun tidak wajar dijual—apatah lagi anak sendiri atau orang tanggungan. Dan tiada suatu amalan yang dinamakan ‘dharma’ benar-benar berhasil apabila dilakukan dengan harta yang berakar daripada adharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Human beings are not commodities; selling a person—especially one’s own children/dependents—is condemned. Further, religious or charitable acts performed using wealth gained through unrighteous means do not yield true dharmic merit.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he lays down a moral prohibition against treating people as saleable property and warns that dharma cannot be established through resources obtained by adharma.