Shloka 253
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
कारावरो निषाद्यां तु चर्मकार: प्रसूयते । इस प्रकार ये तीन नीच जातिके मनुष्य आयोगवीकी संतानें हैं। निघाद जातिकी स्त्रीका यदि वैदेहक जातिके पुरुषसे संसर्ग हो तो क्षुद्र
kārāvaro niṣādyāṃ tu carmakāraḥ prasūyate |
Bhishma berkata: Daripada seorang Niṣādī (wanita daripada komuniti Niṣāda), lahirlah Kārāvara; dan juga terhasil Carmakāra (pekerja kulit). Dalam petikan ini, Bhishma menghuraikan pengelasan varṇa–jāti tradisional menurut kelahiran dan pekerjaan, dengan menyatakan bahawa beberapa percampuran dikatakan melahirkan komuniti yang tinggal di luar kampung dan menyara hidup melalui pemburuan atau melalui kerja mengurus kulit haiwan mati—maka gelaran “Carmakāra,” pekerja kulit.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is part of Bhishma’s instructional catalog of traditional social classifications, linking birth (especially mixed unions) with named communities and customary occupations. It reflects a prescriptive social taxonomy rather than a universal ethical ideal, and it is presented as an explanatory scheme for social roles and livelihoods.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and social regulations. Here he continues a section describing the origins and occupations of various groups said to arise from particular unions, mentioning Kārāvara and Carmakāra in connection with a Niṣādī.