Shloka 16
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
त्रीणि वर्षाण्युदी क्षेत्र कन्या ऋतुमती सती । चतुर्थे त्वथ सम्प्राप्ते स्वयं भर्तारमर्जयेत्
trīṇi varṣāṇy udīkṣeta kanyā ṛtumatī satī | caturthe tv atha samprāpte svayaṃ bhartāram arjayet ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Kung ang isang dalaga ay nagdalaga na ngunit nananatiling hindi pa naipapakasal, dapat siyang maghintay ng tatlong taon upang maihanay ang nararapat na pag-aasawa. Pagdating ng ikaapat na taon, maaari siyang, sa sarili niyang pasya, makapagtamo ng asawa para sa sarili.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Guardians should not postpone arranging a marriage after a girl reaches maturity; if they neglect this duty, dharma permits the maiden, after waiting three years, to choose and secure a husband herself in the fourth year.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he lays down a normative rule about the timing of marriage for a maiden who has reached puberty, specifying a three-year waiting period and then allowing self-choice if guardians fail to act.