Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 396

Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)

Devanagari script

क्षत्रियायास्तथा वैश्या न जातु सदृशी भवेत्‌ । जैसे क्षत्रिया कभी ब्राह्मणीके समान नहीं हो सकती वैसे ही वैश्या भी कभी क्षत्रियाके तुल्य नहीं हो सकती

Transliteration

kṣatriyāyās tathā vaiśyā na jātu sadṛśī bhavet |

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Cũng như người nữ Kṣatriya không bao giờ có thể ngang với người nữ Brāhmaṇa, thì người nữ Vaiśya cũng không bao giờ có thể ngang với người nữ Kṣatriya.”

Word by Word

• क्षत्रियायाः: of a Kshatriya woman
• क्षत्रियायाः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिया (क्षत्रिय-)
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Singular

• तथा: likewise/so
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• वैश्या: a Vaishya woman
• वैश्या: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्या (वैश्य-)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• जातु: ever/at any time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: जातु

• सदृशी: similar/equal
• सदृशी: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सदृश (सदृश-)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• भवेत्: would be/might become
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kṣatriya (varṇa)
• Brāhmaṇa (varṇa, implied by the Hindi gloss)
• Vaiśya (varṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.