13.049
Dedication to the son.
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
O best of the Kurus, tell me about the sons of the classes, describing each separately; what kind they are, and also whose sons they are, and who they are. (13-49-1)
Accusations against Brahmins, caused by the son, are heard very often. Here, O king, do not let us be deluded; you ought to resolve our doubt. (13-49-2)
Bhishma said.
The son is to be regarded as oneself; his immediate successor also is to be known as such, as is one who is appointed, and likewise a son born from another. (13-49-3)
If a wife is well-united with a fallen husband, and similarly in the case of adoption, a son not properly married, and likewise another, (13-49-4)
O Bhārata, know that these six born of degradation and also the kānīna outcastes are thus named; recognize them as such. (13-49-5)
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
Who are the six born of decline, and who are the inferior ones as well? Please explain all this to me truthfully. (13-49-6)
Bhishma said.
O Yudhiṣṭhira, among the three varṇas, those who are sons of a brāhmaṇa; and among the two varṇas, those two who should be of the kṣatriya, O Bhārata. (13-49-7)
Now, the one with two letters is thus indicated here. The six born of decline, they too, are inferior ones—hear about them. (13-49-8)
The outcaste, the two fallen ones (vrātya and vena), are observed as three degraded types among the offspring of a śūdra with brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, and vaiśya women. (13-49-9)
Māgadha and Vāmaka are the two sons recognized as born of a Vaiśya; but of a Kṣatriya, only one son is recognized, whether from a Brāhmaṇa woman or a Kṣatriya woman. (13-49-10)
A Sūta is observed as born from a Brāhmaṇa woman; thus, these are considered low-born. The seed of the son cannot indeed be made false, O king. (13-49-11)
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
Some say the son is born of the field, while others say he is born of semen. Of these two sons, who is truly whose? Tell me that, O grandsire. (13-49-12)
Bhishma said.
A son may be born of semen, or, if abandoned, may be born of the field; if the wife marries another, breaking the agreement, know this only from me. (13-49-13)
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
We know that a son is born of semen, but how is the origin of a field-born (son)? We know a son is placed upon (the wife), but how is it when the agreement is abandoned? (13-49-14)
Bhishma said.
If a man, having begotten his own son, abandons him for some other reason, then the cause is not the seed; that son does not belong to the owner of the field. (13-49-15)
O lord of men, when a man desiring a son chooses a woman for the sake of a son, there the field (womb) is the determining factor; indeed, the son born there is not truly his own son. (13-49-16)
O best of the Bharatas, elsewhere a son born of the body is seen, but the self indeed cannot be killed, for it is established by this example. (13-49-17)
Sometimes, an adopted son is recognized only by adoption; there, O Yudhiṣṭhira, neither seed, nor womb, nor any other evidence is present. (13-49-18)
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
What kind of son is an artificial one? He is recognized only by collection. O Bhārata, wherever semen, field, or measure may be observed. (13-49-19)
Bhishma said.
If one observes someone completely abandoned on the road by his mother and father, and whose parents are not known, he is indeed an artificial (child). (13-49-20)
Ownership of what has no owner should be properly determined; a kinsman should maintain it, and then the kinsman becomes its owner. (13-49-21)
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
O grandsire, tell me how this rite is to be performed, for whom and in what manner, how the maiden is to be given, and all this. (13-49-22)
Bhishma said.
O Acyuta, for one who is like oneself, the sacrament should be performed just as for a master. If someone is abandoned by both parents and is accepted into the same caste, then, according to his lineage and caste, the sacrament should be performed for him. (13-49-24)
Now, O Yudhiṣṭhira, the maiden should be given in marriage according to that caste; for performing the rite, the mother's lineage and the determination of the mother's caste should be considered. (13-49-25)
Kānīna and adhyūḍhaja sons are also to be regarded as sinful sons; yet, it is decided that even these two should be consecrated like one's own sons. (13-49-26)
Brāhmaṇas and others should perform the purificatory rites for those born of the field or even the low-born who have been married, treating them as themselves. (13-49-27)
The certainty regarding the classes is seen in the treatises on dharma. All this has been told to you. What more do you wish to hear? (13-49-28)
