Shloka 26

गोमूल्यनिर्णयः — The Determination of Value through the Cow

Nahuṣa–Cyavana Episode

Devanagari script

चाण्डालात्‌ पाण्डुसौपाकस्त्वक्सारव्यवहारवान्‌

Transliteration

cāṇḍālāt pāṇḍusaupākas tvaksāravyavahāravān | cāṇḍāla-puruṣa-niṣāda-jāti-strī-saṃyogena pāṇḍusaupāka-jātir jāyate | eṣā jātir vaṃśa-daliyā-ādi-nirmāṇena jīvikāṃ karoti | vaidehī-jāti-striyā niṣādena saṃparkāt āhiṇḍakaḥ jāyate, kintu sā eva strī cāṇḍālena saṃparkam āpadyate tadā tasyāḥ saupākaḥ prajāyate | saupākasya jīvikā-vṛttiś cāṇḍālasyaiva tulyā |

Translation

பீஷ்மர் கூறினார்—சாண்டாள ஆணும் நிஷாத பெண்ணும் சேர்ந்தால் ‘பாண்டு-சௌபாக’ன் பிறக்கிறான் என்று கூறப்படுகிறது; அவனது வாழ்வாதாரம் மூங்கில் கொண்டு கூடை முதலியவற்றை செய்வதாக விவரிக்கப்படுகிறது.

Word by Word

• चाण्डालात्: from a Caṇḍāla
• चाण्डालात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाण्डाल
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• पाण्डु-सौपाकः: a Pāṇḍu-saupāka (a mixed-caste person so named)
• पाण्डु-सौपाकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डुसौपाक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्वक्सार-व्यवहारवान्: having the occupation of (working with) bamboo-baskets/implements
• त्वक्सार-व्यवहारवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वक्सारव्यवहारवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Cāṇḍāla
• Niṣāda
• Vaideha/Vaidehī
• Pāṇḍu-saupāka
• Saupāka
• Āhiṇḍaka
• bamboo (vaṃśa/tvaksāra)
• basketry (dalikā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is part of Bhīṣma’s dharma-instruction that catalogues socially recognized groups (jātis) and assigns them origins and customary occupations. It reflects a normative classificatory framework used in the text’s discussion of social order and livelihood.

What is happening in the narrative?

There is no battlefield action here; Bhīṣma is delivering didactic instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, listing the names, supposed parentage, and livelihoods of certain communities as understood by the tradition represented in the passage.