Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 17
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
अब्राह्माणं तु मन्यन्ते शूद्रापुत्रमनैपुणात् । त्रिषु वर्णेषु जातो हि ब्राह्मणाद् ब्राह्मणो भवेत्
abhāhmaṇaṁ tu manyante śūdrāputram anaipuṇāt | triṣu varṇeṣu jāto hi brāhmaṇād brāhmaṇo bhavet ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Hindi nila itinuturing na Brāhmaṇa ang anak na isinilang sa isang babaeng Śūdra, sapagkat inaakala nilang kulang siya sa pino at bihasang asal na kaugnay ng gawi ng Brāhmaṇa. Ngunit ang anak na inianak ng isang Brāhmaṇa sa isang babae mula sa alinman sa tatlong natitirang varna ay itinuturing na Brāhmaṇa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a normative rule about social recognition (varṇa-status): a child’s acceptance as ‘brāhmaṇa’ is linked to perceived brāhmaṇa-qualities (naipuṇya) and, in the stated scheme, to paternity by a brāhmaṇa across unions with women of other varṇas, while excluding the son of a Śūdra woman from brāhmaṇa recognition.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and social norms. Here he addresses rules of lineage and varṇa-classification, explaining how certain births were traditionally categorized and socially acknowledged.