भीष्म उवाच
जामदग्न्येन रामेण पितुर् वधम् अमृष्यता ॥
क्रुद्धेन च महाभागे हैहयाधिपतिर् हतः ॥
शतानि दश बाहूनां निकृत्तान्य् अर्जुनस्य वै ॥
पुनश् च धनुर् आदाय महास्त्राणि प्रमुञ्चता ॥
निर्दग्धं क्षत्रम् असकृद् रथेन जयता महीम् ॥
एवम् उच्चावचैर् अस्त्रैर् भार्गवेण महात्मना ॥
त्रिःसप्तकृत्वः पृथिवी कृता निःक्षत्रिया पुरा ॥
ततः संभूय सर्वाभिः क्षत्रियाभिः समन्ततः ॥
उत्पादितान्य् अपत्यानि ब्राह्मणैर् नियतात्मभिः ॥
पाणिग्राहस्य तनय इति वेदेषु निश्चितम् ॥
धर्मं मनसि संस्थाप्य ब्राह्मणांस् ताः समभ्ययुः ॥
लोके ऽप्य् आचरितो दृष्टः क्षत्रियाणां पुनर्भवः ॥
bhīṣma uvāca
jāmadagnyena rāmeṇa pitur vadham amṛṣyatā ||
kruddhena ca mahābhāge haihayādhipatir hataḥ ||
śatāni daśa bāhūnāṃ nikṛttāny arjunasya vai ||
punaś ca dhanur ādāya mahāstrāṇi pramuñcatā ||
nirdagdhaṃ kṣatram asakṛd rathena jayatā mahīm ||
evam uccāvacair astrair bhārgaveṇa mahātmanā ||
triḥsaptakṛtvaḥ pṛthivī kṛtā niḥkṣatriyā purā ||
tataḥ saṃbhūya sarvābhiḥ kṣatriyābhiḥ samantataḥ ||
utpāditāny apatyāni brāhmaṇair niyatātmabhiḥ ||
pāṇigrāhasya tanaya iti vedeṣu niścitam ||
dharmaṃ manasi saṃsthāpya brāhmaṇāṃs tāḥ samabhyayuḥ ||
loke 'py ācarito dṛṣṭaḥ kṣatriyāṇāṃ punarbhavaḥ ||
Bhishma said: "Rama, son of Jamadagni, unable to bear his father's slaying and filled with wrath, O gracious one, slew the lord of the Haihayas; and the thousand arms of Arjuna (Kartavirya) were severed. And again, taking up his bow and releasing his mighty weapons, he destroyed the kshatriyas again and again, conquering the earth from his chariot. Thus with manifold weapons the great-souled Bhargava made the earth void of kshatriyas twenty-one times in ancient days. Then, all the kshatriya wives having come together from every side, offspring were begotten upon them by brahmins who had mastered themselves. 'The son belongs to him who took her hand' — so it is established in the Vedas; having fixed this dharma in their minds, those wives went to the brahmins; and in the world this custom was seen to be practiced — the rebirth of the kshatriyas."
e387ae3300cd · publicado 12 jul 2026, 16:16:47 UTC
Disponible enRUENPasa de verso en verso con
Here Bhishma cites the first precedent of the dharma of niyoga: after Parashurama had destroyed the kshatriyas twenty-one times, their widows conceived offspring by righteous brahmins, and so the warrior caste was reborn. The Vedic rule stands out clearly: "the son belongs to him who took the wife's hand," that is, to the lawful husband, not to the bodily begetter. Here it becomes clear that fatherhood is determined by dharma and the marriage bond, not by flesh alone: a child born through niyoga is reckoned the son of the husband for whose lineage he was conceived. It is also notable that the begetting was done by "brahmins who had mastered themselves": niyoga is not an indulgence of passion but a strict duty performed without desire, solely for the continuation of the line. It is notable, too, that even this extraordinary measure was safeguarded by purity of intention and self-control; otherwise it would have degenerated into licentiousness. And yet let us note: Bhishma cites this precedent not to approve of passion, but to show Satyavati that scripture knows a lawful way to continue a lineage without violating anyone's vow. Thus scripture teaches us to distinguish the dharma of niyoga — a strict duty performed for the sake of lineage — from lust, and shows that fatherhood is above all a bond of dharma.