Shloka 4
गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow
Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode
भायश्षितस्रो विप्रस्य द्वयोरात्मा प्रजायते | आनुपूर्व्याद् द्वयोहीनौ मातृजात्यौ प्रसूयत:
bhāryāś catasro viprasya dvayor ātmā prajāyate | ānupūrvyād dvayohīnau mātṛjātyau prasūyataḥ ||
Bhishma disse: “Diz-se que um brâmane tem quatro esposas. De duas delas—uma mulher brâmane e uma mulher kshatriya—nasce um filho considerado brâmane. Mas das duas restantes—quando as esposas são vaishya e shudra—os filhos nascidos são tidos como deficientes no estatuto bramânico e, na devida ordem, entende-se que seguem a casta da mãe.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a normative rule attributed to Bhishma: in the context of a Brahmin’s four possible wives, offspring from a Brahmin or Kshatriya wife are treated as Brahmin, while offspring from Vaishya or Shudra wives are regarded as lacking full Brahmin status and are classified according to the mother’s caste.
During Bhishma’s extended instruction on dharma in the Anushasana Parva, he lays out traditional social-legal classifications concerning marriage and the status of children born from unions across varṇas, presenting an ordered scheme for how such offspring are to be regarded.