Shloka 39

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

Devanagari script

यथा न सदृशी जात_ु ब्राह्म॒ण्या: क्षत्रिया भवेत्‌

Transliteration

yathā na sadṛśī jātu brāhmaṇyāḥ kṣatriyā bhavet

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“正如刹帝利女子永远不可能真正与婆罗门女子平等。”在这段训诫中，毗湿摩强调以达摩为依据的传统种姓（varṇa）等级与不同社会阶序所应遵循的各自理想，将其呈现为关于行为与身份的伦理规范，而非个人好恶之事。

Word by Word

• यथा: just as / as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

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

• सदृशी: similar / equal
• सदृशी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सदृश
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• ब्राह्मण्या: a Brahmin woman
• ब्राह्मण्या: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण्या
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• क्षत्रिया: a Kshatriya woman
• क्षत्रिया: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिया
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Brahmana woman (brāhmaṇī)
• Kshatriya woman (kṣatriyā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts a traditional dharma-based distinction between varṇas, stating that a Kṣatriya woman is not regarded as comparable to a Brāhmaṇa woman, reflecting the text’s normative view of social hierarchy and role-based ideals.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is delivering didactic counsel in the Anuśāsana Parva, framing social and ethical norms; here he uses a general maxim about varṇa distinctions to support his broader instruction on dharma and proper conduct.