Shloka 11
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
शूद्रश्नाण्डालमत्युग्रं वध्यघ्नं बाह्वासिनम् । ब्राह्मण्यां सम्प्रजायन्त इत्येते कुलपांसना: । एते मतिमतां श्रेष्ठ वर्णसंकरजा: प्रभो
śūdraś caṇḍālam atyugraṃ vadhyaghnaṃ bāhvāsinam | brāhmaṇyāṃ samprajāyanta ity ete kulapāṃsanāḥ | ete matimatāṃ śreṣṭha varṇasaṅkarajāḥ prabho ||
Bhīṣma bersabda: Daripada seorang Brāhmaṇī, seorang Śūdra memperanakkan Caṇḍāla yang amat ganas—yang tinggal di luar penempatan dan digunakan untuk kerja membunuh atau melaksanakan hukuman mati ke atas yang terhukum. Wahai tuanku, yang terbaik antara orang bijaksana! Zuriat demikian, lahir daripada persatuan lelaki hina dengan Brāhmaṇī, dianggap mencemarkan keturunan dan disebut “lahir daripada campuran varṇa” (varṇa-saṅkara).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma presents a dharma-śāstra style warning that unions crossing prescribed varṇa boundaries—especially a ‘low’ man with a Brāhmaṇī—are said to produce socially stigmatized offspring termed varṇa-saṅkara, viewed as a blemish upon lineage and linked with marginal occupations.
In his instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and social norms, Bhīṣma lists types of offspring described in traditional classifications of mixed unions, here stating that a Śūdra with a Brāhmaṇī produces a Caṇḍāla who lives outside the village and performs executions.