Shloka 8
नाहं त्वय्यन्यपूर्वायां भार्यार्थी वरवर्णिनि | कथमस्मद्विधो राजा परपूर्वा प्रवेशयेत्,“वरवर्णिनि! जो पहले औरकी हो चुकी हो, ऐसी स्त्रीको मैं अपनी पत्नी बनाऊँ, यह मेरी इच्छा नहीं है। जिस नारीपर पहले किसी दूसरे पुरुषका अधिकार हो गया हो, उसे सारी बातोंको ठीक-ठीक जाननेवाला मेरे-जैसा राजा जो दूसरोंको धर्मका उपदेश करता है, कैसे अपने घरमें प्रविष्ट करायेगा। भद्रे! तुम्हारी जहाँ इच्छा हो, चली जाओ। तुम्हारा यह समय यहाँ व्यर्थ न बीते”
nāhaṁ tvayy anyapūrvāyāṁ bhāryārthī varavarṇini | katham asmadvidho rājā parapūrvāṁ praveśayet ||
“O babaeng maputi at marikit, wala akong hangaring kunin bilang asawa ang isang babaeng naging sa iba na noon. Paano magagawa ng haring tulad ko—na nauunawaan ang mga bagay nang wasto at nagtuturo pa sa iba tungkol sa dharma—na papasukin sa aking sambahayan ang babaeng may naunang karapatan na ang ibang lalaki? Pumaroon ka saan mo man naisin, marangal na binibini; huwag mong hayaang masayang ang iyong panahon dito.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma frames personal conduct as inseparable from public moral authority: a ruler who teaches dharma must also embody social-ethical restraint, especially in matters of marriage and household legitimacy.
Bhīṣma addresses a woman who seeks entry into his household as a wife; he refuses on the ground that she has had a prior association with another man, and he advises her to go wherever she chooses rather than remain there in vain.