Shloka 7
च्यवन-कुशिक-संवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Hospitality, Service, and Lineage Questions
भीष्म उवाच त्रिषु वर्णेषु ये पुत्रा ब्राह्मणस्य युधिष्ठिर । वर्णयोश्ष द्वयो: स्यातां यौ राजन्यस्य भारत
bhīṣma uvāca |
triṣu varṇeṣu ye putrā brāhmaṇasya yudhiṣṭhira |
varṇayoś ca dvayoḥ syātāṃ yau rājanyasya bhārata ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “O Yudhishthira, ang mga anak na lalaki ng isang Brahmana na isinilang sa mga babae ng tatlong varṇa—Kshatriya, Vaishya, at Shudra—ay dapat maunawaang tatlong uri (sa pag-uuring ito). At, O Bharata, ang mga anak ng isang Kshatriya (rājanya) na isinilang sa mga babae ng dalawang varṇa na mas mababa sa kanya ay dalawang uri.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma presents a structured, rule-based classification of offspring arising from unions across varṇas, reflecting the text’s dharma-śāstra style concern with lineage, social categories, and the perceived ethical-social implications of marriage and procreation.
During Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira in the Anushasana Parva, he begins enumerating how many ‘types’ of sons are recognized in this scheme for a Brahmin and for a Kshatriya when children are born from women of different varṇas, setting up a longer explanation that continues in subsequent verses.