Critical Edition
युधिष्ठिर उवाच ब्रूहि पुत्रान्कुरुश्रेष्ठ वर्णानां त्वं पृथक्पृथक् कीदृश्यां कीदृशाश्चापि पुत्राः कस्य च के च ते
M. N. Dutt: Yudhishthira said Describe to us, O sire, the orders and classes separately, what kind of son is begotten on what women, who is entitled to have whom for sons, and what kinds of sons are there.
विप्रवादाः सुबहुशः श्रूयन्ते पुत्रकारिताः अत्र नो मुह्यतां राजन्संशयं छेत्तुमर्हसि
M. N. Dutt: It is known that disputes frequently take place about sons. You should, O king, remove the doubts of our mind. Indeed, we are stupefied about this subject.
Supplementary Passages:
13.49.2 After 2, B3 reads 6ab followed by 7a for the first time, repea- ting them in their proper places; and B5 reads 6 for the first time, repeating it in its proper place, While D10 S (except M4) ins. after 2: *313 भीष्मः आत्मा पुत्रस्तु विज्ञेयः प्रथमो बहुधा परे स्वे क्षेत्रे संस्कृते यस्तु पुत्रमुत्पादयेत्स्वयम् तमौरसं विजानीयात्पुत्रं प्रथमकल्पितम् अग्निं प्रजापतिं चेष्ट्वा वराय प्रतिपादिता पुत्रिका स्याद्दुहितरि संकल्पेनापि वा सुतः तल्पे जातः प्रमीतस्य क्लीबस्य पतितस्य वा स्वधर्मेण नियुक्तो यः स पुत्रः क्षेत्रजः स्मृतः माता पिता च दद्यातां यमद्भिः पुत्रमापदि सदृशं प्रीतिसंयुक्तौ विज्ञेयो दात्तकः सुतः सदृशं तु प्रकुर्याद्यं गुणदोषविचक्षणम् पुत्रं पुत्रगुणैर्युक्तं विज्ञेयस्तु स कृत्रिमः उत्पद्यते यस्तु गूढं न च ज्ञायेत कस्यचित् स भवेद्गूढजो नाम तस्य स्याद्यस्य तल्पजः मातापितृभ्यामुत्सृष्टं तयोरन्यतरेण वा यः पुत्रं प्रतिगृह्णीयादपविद्धः स उच्यते पितृवेश्मनि कन्या तु यं पुत्रं जनयेद्रहः कानीनं तं वदेन्नाम्ना वोढुः कन्यासमुद्भवः या गर्भिणी संस्क्रियते ज्ञाताज्ञातापि वा सती वोढुः स गर्भो भवति सहोढ इति चोच्यते या पत्या वा परित्यक्ता अथ वा स्वेच्छयापि वा उत्पादयेदक्षतायां स पौनर्भव उच्यते मातापितृविहीनो वा सक्तो वा स्यादकारणात् आत्मानं स्पर्शयेद्यस्तु स्वयंदत्तः स उच्यते क्रीणीयाद्यस्त्वपत्यार्थं मातापित्रोर्यमन्तिकात् स सुतस्तस्य सदृशः क्रीतो नाम बुधैः स्मृतः द्वादशैते परे प्राहुरेवं धर्मस्य पाठकाः After line 21, Kumbh. ed. ins.: *314 सा चेदक्षतयोनिः स्याद्गतप्रत्यागतापि वा पौनर्भवेन भर्त्रा सा पुनः संस्कारमर्हति Kumbh. ed. cont.: *315 यं ब्राह्मणस्तु शूद्रायां कामादुत्पादयेत्सुतम् स पारयन्नेव शवस्तस्मात्पारशवः स्मृतः दास्यां वा दासदास्यां वा यः शूद्रस्य सुतो भवेत् सोऽनुज्ञातो हरेदंशमिति धर्मो व्यवस्थितः क्षेत्रजादीन्सुतानेतानेकादश यथोदितान् पुत्रप्रतिनिधीनाहुः क्रियालोपान्मनीषिणः भ्रातॄणामेकजातानामेकश्चेत्पुत्रवान्भवेत् सर्वांस्तांस्तेन पुत्रेण पुत्रिणो मनुरब्रवीत् सर्वासामेकपत्नीनामेका चेत्पुत्रिणी भवेत् सर्वास्तास्तेन पुत्रेण प्राह पुत्रवतीर्मनुः
भीष्म उवाच आत्मा पुत्रस्तु विज्ञेयस्तस्यानन्तरजश्च यः नियुक्तजश्च विज्ञेयः सुतः प्रसृतजस्तथा
M. N. Dutt: Bhishma said One's own begotten son considered as his own self. The son that is begotten upon one's wife by a person whom he has invited for it, if called Niruktaja. The son that is begotten upon one's wife by somebody without his permission, is Prasritaja.
पतितस्य च भार्यायां भर्त्रा सुसमवेतया तथा दत्तकृतौ पुत्रावध्यूढश्च तथापरः
M. N. Dutt: The son begotten upon his own wife by a person degraded from his positions is called Patitaja. There are two other, sons, viz., the son given, and the son made. There is another called Adhyuda.
षडपध्वंसजाश्चापि कानीनापसदास्तथा इत्येते ते समाख्यातास्तान्विजानीहि भारत
M. N. Dutt: The son born of a maiden in her father's house is called Kanina. Besides these, there are six kinds of sons called Apadhwansaja and six others that are called Apasadas. These are the several kind of sons mentioned in the scriptures, know, O Bharata. are
युधिष्ठिर उवाच षडपध्वंसजाः के स्युः के वाप्यपसदास्तथा एतत्सर्वं यथातत्त्वं व्याख्यातुं मे त्वमर्हसि
M. N. Dutt: Yudhishthira said Who the six that are called Apadhvansaja? Who also are the Apasadas? You should fully explain all this to me.
भीष्म उवाच त्रिषु वर्णेषु ये पुत्रा ब्राह्मणस्य युधिष्ठिर वर्णयोश्च द्वयोः स्यातां यौ राजन्यस्य भारत
M. N. Dutt: Bhishma said The sons that a Brahmana begets upon wives taken from the three inferior castes, those begotten by a Kshatriya upon wives taken from the two castes inferior to his own, O Bharata, and the sons that a Vaishya begets upon a wife taken from the one caste that is inferior to his,-are all called Apadhvansas. ! They are, as thus explained, of six kinds. Listen now to me as I tell you who the Apasadas are.
एको द्विवर्ण एवाथ तथात्रैवोपलक्षितः षडपध्वंसजास्ते हि तथैवापसदाञ्शृणु
AI Translation: One is only of two colors, and is thus indicated here. Those six are destroyed by the six, and thus listen to the low castes.
चण्डालो व्रात्यवेनौ च ब्राह्मण्यां क्षत्रियासु च वैश्यायां चैव शूद्रस्य लक्ष्यन्तेऽपसदास्त्रयः
M. N. Dutt: The son that a Shudra begets upon a Brahmani woman is called a Chandala. Begotten upon a Kshatriya woman by a person of the Shudra order, the son is called a Vratye.। He who is born of a Vaishya woman by a Shudra father is called a Vaidya. These three kinds of sons are called Apasada.
मागधो वामकश्चैव द्वौ वैश्यस्योपलक्षितौ ब्राह्मण्यां क्षत्रियायां च क्षत्रियस्यैक एव तु
M. N. Dutt: The Vaishya, by knowing a woman of the Brahmana order, begets a son that is called a Magadha, while the son that he begets upon a Kshatriya woman is called a Vamaka, The। Kshatriya can beget but one kind of son of upon a woman of a superior caste.
ब्राह्मण्यां लक्ष्यते सूत इत्येतेऽपसदाः स्मृताः पुत्ररेतो न शक्यं हि मिथ्या कर्तुं नराधिप
M. N. Dutt: Indeed, the son begotten by a Kshatriya upon a Brahmana woman, is called a Suta. These three also are called Apasadas. It cannot be said, O king, that these six kinds of sons are no sons.
युधिष्ठिर उवाच क्षेत्रजं केचिदेवाहुः सुतं केचित्तु शुक्रजम् तुल्यावेतौ सुतौ कस्य तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह
M. N. Dutt: Yudhishthira said Some say that one's son is he, who is born in his soil. Some, on the other hand, say that one's son is he who has been begotten from his seed. Are both these kinds of sons equal? Whose, again, is the son to be? Do you tell me, this, O grandfather.
भीष्म उवाच रेतजो वा भवेत्पुत्रस्त्यक्तो वा क्षेत्रजो भवेत् अध्यूढः समयं भित्त्वेत्येतदेव निबोध मे
M. N. Dutt: Bhishma said His is the son from whose seed he has sprung. If, however, the owner of the seed discards the son born of it, such son then becomes his upon whose wife he has been begotten. The same rule applies to the son called Adhyuda. He belongs to the person from whose seed he has sprung. If, however, the owner of the seed forsakes him, he becomes the son of the husband of his mother. Know this is what the law declares.
युधिष्ठिर उवाच रेतोजं विद्म वै पुत्रं क्षेत्रजस्यागमः कथम् अध्यूढं विद्म वै पुत्रं हित्वा च समयं कथम्
M. N. Dutt: Yudhishthira said We know that the son becomes his from whose seed he has taken birth. Whence does the husband of the woman who gives birth to the son derive his right to the latter? Likewise the son called Adhyuda should be known to be the son of him from whose seed he has sprung. How can they be the sons of others on account of the engagement about owning and rearing them having been broken?
भीष्म उवाच आत्मजं पुत्रमुत्पाद्य यस्त्यजेत्कारणान्तरे न तत्र कारणं रेतः स क्षेत्रस्वामिनो भवेत्
M. N. Dutt: Bhishma said Fie who, having begotten a son of his own loins: forsakes him for some reason or other, cannot be considered as the father of such son, for vital seed only cannot create sonship. Such son must be held to belong to the person who is the master of the soil.
पुत्रकामो हि पुत्रार्थे यां वृणीते विशां पते तत्र क्षेत्रं प्रमाणं स्यान्न वै तत्रात्मजः सुतः
M. N. Dutt: When a man, desiring to have a son, marries a girl quick with child, the son born of his wife must belong to him, for it is the fruit of his own soil. The person from whose vital seed the son has sprung, can have no right to such son.
अन्यत्र क्षेत्रजः पुत्रो लक्ष्यते भरतर्षभ न ह्यात्मा शक्यते हन्तुं दृष्टान्तोपगतो ह्यसौ
M. N. Dutt: The son who is born in one's soil but not begotten by the owner, O chief of Bharata's race, bears all the marks of the father that has actually begotten him. The son thus born is incapable of concealing the evidences of physiognomy. He is at He is at once known by eyesight.
कश्चिच्च कृतकः पुत्रः संग्रहादेव लक्ष्यते न तत्र रेतः क्षेत्रं वा प्रमाणं स्याद्युधिष्ठिर
M. N. Dutt: As regards the son made, he is sometimes considered as the child of the person who has made him a son and who brings him up. In his case, neither the vital seed of which he has been born nor the soil in which he has been born, becomes the cause of sonship.
युधिष्ठिर उवाच कीदृशः कृतकः पुत्रः संग्रहादेव लक्ष्यते शुक्रं क्षेत्रं प्रमाणं वा यत्र लक्ष्येत भारत
M. N. Dutt: As regards the son made, he is sometimes considered as the child of the person who has made him a son and who brings him up. In his case, neither the vital seed of which he has been born nor the soil in which he has been born, becomes the cause of sonship.
भीष्म उवाच मातापितृभ्यां संत्यक्तं पथि यं तु प्रलक्षयेत् न चास्य मातापितरौ ज्ञायेते स हि कृत्रिमः
M. N. Dutt: Bhishnia said When one takes up and rears a son who has been cast off on the road by his father and mother, and when the person thus taking and rearing him cannot find out his parents after search, he becomes the father of such son and the latter becomes what is called his made son.
अस्वामिकस्य स्वामित्वं यस्मिन्संप्रतिलक्षयेत् सवर्णस्तं च पोषेत सवर्णस्तस्य जायते
M. N. Dutt: Not having anybody to own him, he becomes his who rcars hiin. Such son, again, comes to be considered as belonging to that castes to which his owner or rearer belongs.
युधिष्ठिर उवाच कथमस्य प्रयोक्तव्यः संस्कारः कस्य वा कथम् देया कन्या कथं चेति तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह
M. N. Dutt: Yudhishthira said How should the purifactory rites of such a person be performed? In whose case that sort of rites are to be performed? With what girl should he be married? Tell me all this, O grandfather.
भीष्म उवाच आत्मवत्तस्य कुर्वीत संस्कारं स्वामिवत्तथा
AI Translation: Bhishma said: One should perform the rites for him as for oneself or as for one's master.
त्यक्तो मातापितृभ्यां यः सवर्णं प्रतिपद्यते तद्गोत्रवर्णतस्तस्य कुर्यात्संस्कारमच्युत
AI Translation: One who is abandoned by his parents and takes up a wife of the same caste, O Achyuta, his sacraments should be performed according to his caste and lineage.
Supplementary Passages:
13.49.24 After 24, V1 B Dn3 D4-7.9.10 ins.: *316 संस्कृतस्य सतस्तस्य वर्णगोत्रं भवत्युत
अथ देया तु कन्या स्यात्तद्वर्णेन युधिष्ठिर संस्कर्तुं मातृगोत्रं च मातृवर्णविनिश्चये
AI Translation: Now, if the girl to be given in marriage belongs to the same caste, O Yudhiṣṭhira, in determining the caste of the mother, the maternal family should be purified.
कानीनाध्यूढजौ चापि विज्ञेयौ पुत्रकिल्बिषौ तावपि स्वाविव सुतौ संस्कार्याविति निश्चयः
AI Translation: The son born of a Śūdra woman to a Kṣatriya father and the son born of a Kṣatriya woman to a Vaiśya father are to be known as the two sons who are sinful. It is certain that even they are to be initiated like their own sons.
क्षेत्रजो वाप्यपसदो येऽध्यूढास्तेषु चाप्यथ आत्मवद्वै प्रयुञ्जीरन्संस्कारं ब्राह्मणादयः
AI Translation: Or those born in the family, or those who have been adopted, or those who have been married, in regard to them also, The Brahmanas and others should perform the consecration ceremony as if they were their own selves.
धर्मशास्त्रेषु वर्णानां निश्चयोऽयं प्रदृश्यते एतत्ते सर्वमाख्यातं किं भूयः श्रोतुमिच्छसि
AI Translation: In the scriptures of Dharma, this is the determination of the castes. This I have told you all. What more do you wish to hear?