Shloka 47
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
अवेददब्रतचारित्रास्त्रिभिवरर्णर्युधिष्ठिर । मन्त्रवत्परिविष्यन्ते त्स्याधमों गवानृतम्
avedad-vrata-cāritrās tribhir varṇair yudhiṣṭhira | mantravat pariviṣyante teṣām adho gāvānṛtam ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Yudhiṣṭhira, wenn Männer der drei zweimalgeborenen Stände—Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya und Vaiśya—bei einer Śrāddha‑Feier unter Rezitation der Mantras Speise an Brāhmaṇas reichen, die weder vedische Gelübde noch disziplinierte Lebensführung beachten, so ziehen auch sie die Sünde auf sich, die einem falschen Eid auf eine Kuh gleichkommt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual acts like śrāddha require ethical discernment: feeding and honoring recipients who lack Vedic discipline and proper conduct, even with correct mantras, makes the giver share in serious sin—likened here to the grave offense of a false oath ‘upon a cow’.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. In this verse he warns about the consequences of serving śrāddha offerings to brāhmaṇas who do not follow Vedic vows and right conduct, emphasizing responsibility in choosing qualified recipients.