Shloka 49
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
भीष्म उवाच येषां दारा: प्रतीक्षन्ते सुवृष्टिमिव कर्षका: । उच्छेषपरिशेषं हि तान् भोजय युधिष्ठिर
bhīṣma uvāca yeṣāṃ dārāḥ pratīkṣante suvṛṣṭim iva karṣakāḥ | ucchiṣṭa-pariśeṣaṃ hi tān bhojaya yudhiṣṭhira ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Yudhiṣṭhira, speise jene, deren Frauen auf die Reste ihrer Männer warten wie Bauern auf einen guten Regen—Haushalte, die keine Vorräte besitzen außer dem, was für den Tag gekocht wird. Solche armen Brahmanen sollst du gewiss bewirten.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma urges Yudhishthira to prioritize feeding the truly needy—especially poor Brahmins whose households survive day-to-day without stored grain—making charity concrete, targeted, and compassionate rather than merely ceremonial.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he gives Yudhishthira a vivid social image: wives waiting for leftovers like farmers waiting for rain, to identify households living on the edge; Yudhishthira is told to ensure such people are fed.