Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 16
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
भारत! ब्राह्मणसे शूद्रामें जो पुत्र उत्पन्न होता है, उसे तो धन न देनेका ही विधान है तो भी शूद्राके पुत्रको पैतृक धनका स्वल्पतम भाग--एक अंश दे देना चाहिये ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | bhārata! brāhmaṇe śūdrāyāṃ yo putra utpadyate, tasmai tu dhanaṃ na dātavyam iti vidhānam; tathāpi śūdrāyāḥ putrāya paitṛkasya dhanasya svalpatamaṃ bhāgam—ekam aṃśaṃ—dātavyaḥ || daśadhā pravibhaktasya dhanasya eṣa bhavet kramaḥ | savarṇāsu tu jātānāṃ samān bhāgān prakalpayet ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “O Bhārata, kapag ang isang anak ay isinilang sa isang Brāhmaṇa mula sa babaeng Śūdra, ang tuntunin ay huwag siyang bigyan ng ari-arian. Gayunman, ang anak ng Śūdra ay dapat pa ring pagkalooban ng pinakamaliit na bahagi ng yaman ng ama—isang bahagi. Ito ang kaayusan kapag ang yaman ay hinahati sa sampung bahagi. Ngunit para sa mga anak na isinilang sa mga babaeng kapareho ng varna, pantay-pantay na bahagi ang dapat italaga sa lahat.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma outlines a dharma-based rule for inheritance: in a ten-part division, sons born from women of the same varna receive equal shares, while a son connected with a Shudra mother is assigned only the smallest portion, reflecting the text’s normative social-legal framework.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma is advising Yudhiṣṭhira on household and legal duties—specifically, how paternal wealth should be apportioned among sons under different marital/varna circumstances.