Shloka 14
च्यवन-कुशिक-संवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Hospitality, Service, and Lineage Questions
युधिषछ्िर उवाच रेतजं विद्य वै पुत्र क्षेत्रजस्यागम: कथम् | अध्यूढं विद्य वै पुत्र भित्ता तु समयं कथम्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: retajaṁ vidya vai putra kṣetrajasyāgamaḥ katham | adhyūḍhaṁ vidya vai putra bhittā tu samayaṁ katham ||
尤狄湿提罗说道：“祖父啊，我们只承认由种子所生者为‘子’。若无种子，‘田生子’（kṣetraja）又怎能出现？至于‘阿提优陀子’（adhyūḍha），我们应当凭何种规则、何种习俗界限，以所谓‘破约’而认其为子呢？”
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma inquiry into how ‘sonship’ is defined beyond biology—especially the legitimacy of kṣetraja and other socially recognized categories—highlighting that lineage and duty can be grounded in śāstric convention and ethical purpose, not only in physical paternity.
In the Anuśāsana Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma about the dharma-legal categories of sons. He challenges how a son can be acknowledged without the father’s seed and asks what conventional boundary or rule makes an adhyūḍha count as a son.