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 ||
युधिष्ठिर उवाच— पितामह! यस्याः कन्यायाः शुल्कं पूर्वमेव गृहीतं, तस्याः पाणिग्राहकोऽद्य न विद्यते— शुल्कदः परदेशं गतः, तस्य भयाच्चान्योऽपि पुरुषो न तां परिणेतुमिच्छति— तदा तस्याः पिता किं कर्तव्यम्? एतन्मे ब्रूहि।
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.