Shloka 21
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
यद्यप्येष सपुत्र: स्यादपुत्रो यदि वा भवेत् । नाधिकं दशमादू दद्याच्छूद्रापुत्राय भारत,भारत! ब्राह्मणके अन्य वर्णकी स्त्रियोंसे पुत्र हों या न हों, वह शूद्राके पुत्रको दसवें भागसे अधिक धन न दे
yady apy eṣa saputraḥ syād aputro yadi vā bhavet | nādhikaṁ daśamād dadyāc chūdrāputrāya bhārata ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi Bhārata, dù một Brāhmaṇa có con hay tình cờ không có con, cũng không nên cho người con của người mẹ Śūdrā nhiều hơn một phần mười.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lays down a normative limit: regardless of whether a Brahmin has legitimate sons or is sonless, he should not allot more than one-tenth of his wealth to a son born of a Śūdra woman. The teaching reflects the text’s concern with regulating inheritance and maintaining established dharma-based social conventions.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including rules of household conduct and distribution of property. Here he states a specific guideline about how much may be given to a Śūdra-born son, framing it as a restraint within customary inheritance practice.