Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 25
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
स्त्रियास्तु यद् भवेत् वित्तं पित्रा दत्तं युधिष्ठिर । ब्राह्मण्यास्तद्धरेत् कन्या यथा पुत्रस्तथा हि सा
striyās tu yad bhavet vittaṃ pitrā dattaṃ yudhiṣṭhira | brāhmaṇyās tad dharet kanyā yathā putras tathā hi sā ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “O Yudhiṣṭhira, anumang yaman na taglay ng isang babae na ibinigay ng kanyang ama—kung siya’y isang babaeng Brāhmaṇa—maaaring angkinin nang may karapatan ng kanyang anak na babae; sapagkat sa bagay na ito, ang anak na babae ay itinuturing na kapantay ng anak na lalaki.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In the context of dharma concerning inheritance, Bhīṣma states that a daughter can legitimately receive her mother’s paternal gift-wealth; in this specific rule, the daughter is treated as equivalent to a son.
During Bhīṣma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, he lays down a normative rule about succession to a woman’s property received from her father, clarifying the daughter’s entitlement.