Shloka 29
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
कस्मात् तु विषमं भागं भजेरन् नृपसत्तम | यदा सर्वे त्रयो वर्णास्त्वियोक्ता ब्राह्मणा इति
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kasmāt tu viṣamaṃ bhāgaṃ bhajeran nṛpasattama | yadā sarve trayo varṇās tvayoktā brāhmaṇā iti ||
युधिष्ठिर उवाच— कस्मात्तु विषमं भागं भजेरन् नृपसत्तम। यदा सर्वे त्रयो वर्णास्त्वयोक्ता ब्राह्मणा इति॥
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-based challenge: if a person’s recognized status is the same (here, being declared ‘Brāhmaṇa’), then justice demands consistency in rights—especially regarding inheritance—so unequal distribution requires a clear ethical and legal justification.
Yudhiṣṭhira questions a senior royal authority about rules of inheritance. He points out an apparent contradiction between declaring certain sons as Brāhmaṇas and yet assigning them unequal shares of paternal property, pressing for a coherent dharma rationale.