Shloka 18
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
स्मृताश्न वर्णाक्षत्वार: पञचमो नाधिगम्यते । हरेच्च दशमं भागं शूद्रापुत्र: पितुर्धनात्,चार ही वर्ण बताये हैं, पाँचवाँ वर्ण नहीं मिलता। शूद्राका पुत्र ब्राह्मण पिताके धनसे उसका दसवाँ भाग ले सकता है
smṛtāś ca varṇāś catvāraḥ pañcamo nādhigamyate | haret ca daśamaṃ bhāgaṃ śūdrāputraḥ pitur dhanāt |
روایت میں چار ہی ورن مانے گئے ہیں؛ پانچواں ورن تسلیم نہیں۔ اگر شودرا عورت سے برہمن باپ کا بیٹا ہو تو وہ باپ کے مال میں سے دسواں حصہ لے سکتا ہے۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a normative Smṛti-based framework: only four varṇas are recognized, and inheritance rights for a son from a mixed union (Śūdrā mother, Brāhmaṇa father) are limited to a defined fraction—one-tenth—reflecting rule-governed entitlement rather than equal succession.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including social and legal norms. Here he states a traditional classification of varṇas and specifies an inheritance rule concerning a son born of a Śūdrā woman with a Brāhmaṇa father.