Shloka 54
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
तत्पाणिग्रहणात् पूर्वमन्तरं यत्र वर्तते । सर्वमड्रलमन्त्रं वै मृषावादस्तु पातक:
tat-pāṇigrahaṇāt pūrvam antaraṃ yatra vartate | sarva-maṅgala-mantraṃ vai mṛṣāvādas tu pātakaḥ ||
तत्पाणिग्रहणात् पूर्वमन्तरं यत्र वर्तते । सर्वमङ्गलमन्त्रं वै मृषावादस्तु पातकः ॥
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The binding point of marriage is pāṇigrahaṇa; if a match is altered before that, the primary fault is breaking one’s word (mṛṣāvāda), not an invalid or adulterous marriage.
Bhīṣma addresses a debated case in marriage procedure: even if preliminary auspicious rites and mantras have begun, if an interruption occurs before the hand-taking, the bride may be given to another groom; the giver’s culpability is limited to false speech.