Shloka 1
Varṇasaṃkara: Causes, Classifications, and Conduct-based Recognition (वर्णसंकरः—हेतु-जाति-आचारनिर्णयः)
/ अपन का बा | अपर ३-स्मृतियोंमें निम्नलिखित आठ विवाह बतलाये गये हैं--ब्राह्म
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kanyāyāḥ prāptaśulkāyāḥ patiḥ na jñāyate kaścana | tatra kā pratipattiḥ syāt tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Avô, se o preço nupcial de uma donzela já foi aceito, mas agora não há marido disponível—porque o homem que o pagou partiu para outra terra, e por temor a ele nenhum outro homem se dispõe a desposá-la—que providência deve tomar o pai dela? Peço-te que me digas.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-legal dilemma: once a bride-price has been accepted, the father’s freedom to remarry the daughter is ethically constrained. Yudhiṣṭhira seeks a principled procedure that protects the maiden’s welfare while respecting obligations created by accepting śulka.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma on rules of conduct. Here he presents a specific case: the bride-price has been taken, but the intended groom is absent and others fear marrying her; he asks Bhīṣma what the father should do next according to dharma.