Shloka 48
Dāyavibhāga (Inheritance Apportionment) and Household Precedence — Dialogue of Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhīṣma
अस्मिन्नर्थे सत्यवन्तं पर्यपृच्छन्त वै जना: । कन्याया: प्राप्तशुल्काया: शुल्कद: प्रशमं गत:
asminn arthe satyavantaṃ paryapṛcchanta vai janāḥ | kanyāyāḥ prāptaśulkāyāḥ śulkadaḥ praśamaṃ gataḥ |
毗湿摩说：“关于此事，古人曾问萨底耶梵：‘大智者啊，若某少女的聘财（bride-price）已被收受，而本应支付聘财之人却去世了，那么他人可否为她行婚礼之仪——执其手（pāṇigrahaṇa）——还是不可？我们对达摩生起疑惑。请为我们断疑，因为你为智者所敬重。’”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-question about marriage validity and obligation: when a bride-price has been accepted but the payer dies, does the prior transaction authorize another man to marry the maiden, or must the arrangement be reconsidered? It highlights that social contracts around marriage are subordinate to dharma and require authoritative clarification.
Bhīṣma introduces an older precedent: people once approached Satyavān with a legal-ethical doubt concerning a maiden whose bride-price had been received, but whose intended payer died. They request Satyavān—respected by the learned—to resolve their uncertainty about whether another person may perform her pāṇigrahaṇa (marriage hand-taking).