Shloka 14
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
वर्णे तृतीये जातस्तु वैश्यायां ब्राह्णादपि । द्विरंशस्तेन हर्तव्यो ब्राह्मणस्वाद् युधिष्ठिर
varṇe tṛtīye jātastu vaiśyāyāṃ brāhmaṇād api | dvir-aṃśas tena hartavyo brāhmaṇasvād yudhiṣṭhira ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Ó Yudhishthira, quando um filho nasce de uma mulher da terceira varṇa (uma vaiśyā) de um pai brâmane, deve receber uma quota dupla dos bens do brâmane.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a dharma-based inheritance rule: a son born from a Brāhmaṇa father and a Vaiśyā mother is entitled to a double portion from the Brāhmaṇa’s estate, indicating graded shares tied to varṇa-based norms discussed by Bhīṣma.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and social/legal duties. Here he answers a question about entitlement to property and the appropriate share for a son born of a mixed-varṇa union (Brāhmaṇa father, Vaiśyā mother).