The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4: Books 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18
General
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4: Books 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18
Epic literature, Sanskrit
"'Bhishma said, "The Brahmana, the Kshatriya, and the Vaisya are regarded
as the three regenerate orders. To wed in these three orders has been
ordained to be the duty of the Brahmana, O Yudhishthira. Through
erroneous judgment or cupidity or lust, O scorcher of foes, a Brahmana
takes a Sudra wife. Such a wife, however, he is not competent to take
according to the scriptures. A Brahmana, by taking a Sudra woman to his
bed, attains to a low end in the next world. He should, having done such
an act, undergo expiation according to the rites laid down in the
scriptures. That expiation must be twice heavier or severer if in
consequence of such an act, O Yudhishthira, the Brahmana gets offspring.
I shall now tell thee, O Bharata, how the (paternal) wealth is to be
distributed (among the children of the different spouses.) The son born
of the Brahmana wife shall, in the first place, appropriate from his
father's wealth a bull of good marks, and the best car or vehicle. What
remains of the Brahmana's property, O Yudhishthira, after this should be
divided into ten equal portions. The son by the Brahmana wife shall take
four of such portions of the paternal wealth. The son that is born of the
Kshatriya wife is, without doubt, possessed of the status of a Brahmana.
In consequence, however, of the distinction attaching to his mother, he
shall take three of the ten shares into which the property has been
divided. The son that has been born of the wife belonging to the third
order, viz., the woman of the Vaisya caste, by the Brahmana sire, shall
take, O Yudhishthira, two of the three remaining shares of the father's
property. It has been said that the son that has been begotten by the
Brahmana sire upon the Sudra wife should not take any portion of the
father's wealth, for he is not to be considered an heir. A little,
however, of the paternal wealth should be given to the son of the Sudra
wife, hence the one remaining share should be given to him out of
compassion. Even this should be the order of the ten shares into which
the Brahmana's wealth is to be divided. All the sons that are born of the
same mother or of mothers of the same order, shall share equally the
portion that is theirs. The son born of the Sudra wife should not be
regarded as invested with the status of a Brahmana in consequence of his
being unskilled (in the scriptures and the duties ordained for the
Brahmana). Only those children that are born of wives belonging to the
three higher orders should be regarded as invested with the status of
Brahmanas. It has been said that there are only four orders, there is no
fifth that has been enumerated. The son by the Sudra wife shall take the
tenth part of his sire's wealth (that remains after the allotment has
been made to the others in the way spoken of). That share, however, he is
to take only when his sire has given it to him. He shall not take it if
his sire does not give it unto him. Some portion of the sire's wealth
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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