Shloka 7
च्यवन-कुशिक-संवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Hospitality, Service, and Lineage Questions
भीष्म उवाच त्रिषु वर्णेषु ये पुत्रा ब्राह्मणस्य युधिष्ठिर । वर्णयोश्ष द्वयो: स्यातां यौ राजन्यस्य भारत
bhīṣma uvāca |
triṣu varṇeṣu ye putrā brāhmaṇasya yudhiṣṭhira |
varṇayoś ca dvayoḥ syātāṃ yau rājanyasya bhārata ||
Bhishma disse: “Ó Yudhishthira, os filhos que um brâmane gera com mulheres das três varṇas devem ser compreendidos como três tipos (nesta classificação). E, ó Bharata, os filhos de um kshatriya (rājanya) com mulheres das duas varṇas abaixo da sua são de dois tipos.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma presents a structured, rule-based classification of offspring arising from unions across varṇas, reflecting the text’s dharma-śāstra style concern with lineage, social categories, and the perceived ethical-social implications of marriage and procreation.
During Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira in the Anushasana Parva, he begins enumerating how many ‘types’ of sons are recognized in this scheme for a Brahmin and for a Kshatriya when children are born from women of different varṇas, setting up a longer explanation that continues in subsequent verses.