Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 12
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
शेष तु दशधा कार्य ब्राह्मणस्वं युधिष्ठिर । तत्र तेनैव हर्तव्याक्ष॒त्वारों3शा: पितुर्धनात्
śeṣa tu daśadhā kārya brāhmaṇasvaṁ yudhiṣṭhira | tatra tenaiva hartavyāś catvāro 'ṁśāḥ pitur dhanāt ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “Tungkol naman sa natitira, O Yudhiṣṭhira, ay ayusin ito sa sampung bahagi bilang ari-arian ng mga Brāhmaṇa. Mula roon, ang taong iyon din ang kukuha ng apat na bahagi mula sa yaman ng ama.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharmic regulation of inheritance and wealth: remaining property is to be apportioned in a prescribed way, recognizing Brāhmaṇa entitlement (brāhmaṇasva) and specifying a rule of shares (four parts) to be taken from the father’s wealth.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, he lays down a technical rule about how a remainder of property should be divided into ten portions as Brāhmaṇa property, and how a designated person is to take four shares from the paternal estate.