Shloka 27
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
आहिण्डको निषादेन वैदेहाां सम्प्रसूयते । चण्डालेन तु सौपाकश्नण्डालसमतवृत्तिमान्
āhiṇḍako niṣādena vaidehāṃ samprasūyate | caṇḍālena tu saupākaś caṇḍālasamatavṛttimān ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Daripada persatuan seorang lelaki Niṣāda dengan seorang perempuan Vaidehā lahirlah yang disebut Āhiṇḍaka. Tetapi daripada persatuan seorang lelaki Caṇḍāla dengan perempuan Vaidehā yang sama lahirlah Saupāka—yang cara hidup dan kedudukan sosialnya dianggap sebanding dengan Caṇḍāla.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is part of Bhīṣma’s normative cataloging of social categories arising from specific unions and the customary livelihoods attributed to them, illustrating how traditional dharma literature attempted to map social order through birth, lineage, and occupation.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he lists outcomes of particular inter-community unions: Niṣāda with Vaidehā producing Āhiṇḍaka, and Caṇḍāla with Vaidehā producing Saupāka, noting the Saupāka’s livelihood is considered similar to that of a Caṇḍāla.