Shloka 22
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
दरिद्रश्चनासवर्णश्र॒ ममायमिति पार्थिव: । न दित्सति सुतां तस्मै तां विप्राय सुदर्शनाम्
daridraś cānāsavarṇaś ca mamāyam iti pārthivaḥ | na ditsati sutāṃ tasmai tāṃ viprāya sudarśanām ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: Ang hari, sa pag-iisip na, “Mahirap ang taong ito, at bukod pa roon ay hindi siya kabilang sa kapantay kong uri,” ay ayaw ibigay sa brahmana ang kanyang anak na si Sudarśanā na may kagandahang pambihira upang maging asawa.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques exclusion based on poverty and varṇa-identification: a ruler’s attachment to status (“not of my class”) can lead to adharma by denying a worthy match or failing in generosity and fairness.
Bhīṣma narrates that a king refuses to give his daughter Sudarśanā to a brāhmaṇa because he considers the man poor and not of the same varṇa as himself.