Shloka 24
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
नैकान्तो दोष एकस्मिंस्तदा केनोपपद्यते | धर्मतो यां प्रयच्छन्ति यां च क्रीणन्ति भारत
naikānto doṣa ekasmiṁs tadā kenopapadyate | dharmato yāṁ prayacchanti yāṁ ca krīṇanti bhārata ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Ang pagkukulang ay hindi ganap na sumisibol sa iisang panig lamang—paano nga ba maitatatag ang sisi sa gayong kalagayan? O Bharata, kapag ang isang dalaga ay ibinigay ng kanyang mga kamag-anak ayon sa dharma sa pamamagitan ng ritwal ng paghawak-kamay (pāṇigrahaṇa), o kahit na naipagkaloob kapalit ng halaga, kung ang lalaking nag-asawa sa kanya sa wastong paraan—o ang nagbayad ng halaga—ay iuuwi siya sa kanyang tahanan, walang kasalanang moral na nalilikha. Sa gayong kalagayan, paano masasabi na may pananagutan?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma argues that moral blame cannot be assigned absolutely to one party when a marriage occurs through socially recognized means—whether by lawful gifting of the bride or by a transaction accepted in that context; thus, taking the bride home in such a case is not, by itself, a doṣa.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and social conduct. Here he addresses a question about the legitimacy and fault (doṣa) in certain forms of marriage acquisition, asserting that in the described circumstances culpability does not arise.