Shloka 396
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
क्षत्रियायास्तथा वैश्या न जातु सदृशी भवेत् । जैसे क्षत्रिया कभी ब्राह्मणीके समान नहीं हो सकती वैसे ही वैश्या भी कभी क्षत्रियाके तुल्य नहीं हो सकती
kṣatriyāyās tathā vaiśyā na jātu sadṛśī bhavet |
Sabi ni Bhīṣma: “Kung paanong ang isang babaeng Kṣatriya ay hindi kailanman maituturing na kapantay ng isang babaeng Brāhmaṇa, gayundin ang isang babaeng Vaiśya ay hindi kailanman magiging kapantay ng isang babaeng Kṣatriya.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That, within the text’s varṇa-dharma framework, different social classes (varṇas) are not regarded as interchangeable in status and prescribed function; Bhīṣma emphasizes fixed distinctions rather than equivalence.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction-heavy setting, Bhīṣma continues advising on dharma and social norms, using a comparison among varṇas (Kṣatriya, Brāhmaṇa, Vaiśya) to underline hierarchical differentiation.