hoveth thee, O thou of mighty
arms, to expound as to how a man should conduct himself who is desirous
of treading along the path of duty and righteousness. It has been laid
down, O grandsire, that a Brahmana can take four wives, viz., one that
belongs to his own order, one that is a Kshatriya, one that is a Vaisya,
and one that is a Sudra, if the Brahmana wishes to indulge in the desire
of sexual intercourse. Tell me, O best of the Kurus, which amongst those
sons deserves to inherit the father's wealth one after another? Who
amongst them, O grandsire, shall take what share of the paternal wealth?
I desire to hear this, viz., how the distribution has been ordained
amongst them of the paternal property."

"'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 a