Shloka 396

Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)

Devanagari script

क्षत्रियायास्तथा वैश्या न जातु सदृशी भवेत्‌ । जैसे क्षत्रिया कभी ब्राह्मणीके समान नहीं हो सकती वैसे ही वैश्या भी कभी क्षत्रियाके तुल्य नहीं हो सकती

Transliteration

kṣatriyāyās tathā vaiśyā na jātu sadṛśī bhavet |

Translation

ఎలాగైతే క్షత్రియ స్త్రీ బ్రాహ్మణీకి సమానంగా ఉండలేదో, అలాగే వైశ్య స్త్రీ కూడా క్షత్రియ స్త్రీకి సమానంగా ఉండలేను.

Word by Word

• क्षत्रियायाः: of a Kshatriya woman
• क्षत्रियायाः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिया (क्षत्रिय-)
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Singular

• तथा: likewise/so
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• वैश्या: a Vaishya woman
• वैश्या: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्या (वैश्य-)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• जातु: ever/at any time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जातु

• सदृशी: similar/equal
• सदृशी: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सदृश (सदृश-)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• भवेत्: would be/might become
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kṣatriya (varṇa)
• Brāhmaṇa (varṇa, implied by the Hindi gloss)
• Vaiśya (varṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That, within the text’s varṇa-dharma framework, different social classes (varṇas) are not regarded as interchangeable in status and prescribed function; Bhīṣma emphasizes fixed distinctions rather than equivalence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-heavy setting, Bhīṣma continues advising on dharma and social norms, using a comparison among varṇas (Kṣatriya, Brāhmaṇa, Vaiśya) to underline hierarchical differentiation.