Shloka 11
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
अत ऊर्ध्व विसर्गस्य परीक्षां ब्राह्मणे शूणु
ata ūrdhvaṁ visaragasya parīkṣāṁ brāhmaṇe śṛṇu | adya dāna-bhojanārthaṁ brāhmaṇasya parīkṣāyāṁ yā kathā ucyate tāṁ śṛṇu | rājan, ye brāhmaṇāḥ patitā jaḍā unmattā vā bhavanti te deva-kārye pitṛ-kārye vā nimantraṇa-yogyā na bhavanti |
Bhīṣma sprach: „Nun höre, o Brahmane, von der Prüfung, die fortan vorzunehmen ist. Vernimm, was darüber gelehrt wird, wie ein brāhmaṇa zu beurteilen ist, wenn man Gaben geben und Speise darreichen will. O König, brāhmaṇas, die von rechter Lebensführung abgefallen sind, oder die stumpfen Verstandes sind, oder die dem Wahnsinn verfallen, taugen nicht dazu, zu Riten für die Götter oder für die Pitṛs eingeladen zu werden.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that charity and ritual hospitality must be guided by discernment: for deva-rites and ancestral rites, one should invite only those Brahmins who are ethically and mentally fit, avoiding those who are fallen in conduct, incapable of discernment, or mentally deranged.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma continues instructing the king on dharma. Here he turns to practical guidance on how to assess Brahmins for invitations connected with gifting and ritual feeding, specifying who is not eligible for deva-kārya and pitṛ-kārya.