Shloka 48
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
अस्मिन्नर्थे सत्यवन्तं पर्यपृच्छन्त वै जना: । कन्याया: प्राप्तशुल्काया: शुल्कद: प्रशमं गत:
asminn arthe satyavantaṃ paryapṛcchanta vai janāḥ | kanyāyāḥ prāptaśulkāyāḥ śulkadaḥ praśamaṃ gataḥ |
Bhīṣma disse: “Sobre este assunto, as pessoas de tempos antigos perguntaram a Satyavān: ‘Ó grande sábio, se o preço da noiva (bride-price) por uma donzela já foi recebido, e o homem que deveria pagá-lo morre, pode outro realizar o rito do casamento — tomar-lhe a mão (pāṇigrahaṇa) — ou não? Surgiu-nos uma dúvida acerca do dharma. Remove-a, pois és honrado pelos sábios.’”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-question about marriage validity and obligation: when a bride-price has been accepted but the payer dies, does the prior transaction authorize another man to marry the maiden, or must the arrangement be reconsidered? It highlights that social contracts around marriage are subordinate to dharma and require authoritative clarification.
Bhīṣma introduces an older precedent: people once approached Satyavān with a legal-ethical doubt concerning a maiden whose bride-price had been received, but whose intended payer died. They request Satyavān—respected by the learned—to resolve their uncertainty about whether another person may perform her pāṇigrahaṇa (marriage hand-taking).