Shloka 45
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
भूयान् स्यात् क्षत्रियापुत्रो वैश्यापुत्रान्न संशय: । भूयस्तेनापि हर्तव्यं पितृवित्ताद् युधिष्ठिर
bhūyān syāt kṣatriyāputro vaiśyāputrān na saṁśayaḥ | bhūyas tenāpi hartavyaṁ pitṛvittād yudhiṣṭhira ||
भीष्म उवाच—क्षत्रियापुत्रो वैश्यापुत्राद् भूयान् स्यात्, न संशयः। तस्मात्, हे युधिष्ठिर, पितृवित्तशेषात् तेनापि भूयः हर्तव्यम्।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma frames inheritance and entitlement through the lens of varṇa-based hierarchy, asserting that a Kṣatriya son has a stronger claim than a Vaiśya son and therefore should receive a larger portion of ancestral property.
In his instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and social/legal norms, Bhīṣma discusses how shares of paternal wealth should be apportioned, here emphasizing preferential allotment to a Kṣatriya son over a Vaiśya son.