Shloka 56
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
अत्युक्रान्ताश्व धर्मेषु पाषण्डसमयेषु च । कृशप्राणा: कृशधनास्तेभ्यो दत्त महाफलम्
atyukrāntāśva dharmeṣu pāṣaṇḍa-samayeṣu ca | kṛśa-prāṇāḥ kṛśa-dhanās tebhyo dattaṃ mahā-phalam ||
Bhishma sprach: Gaben an jene, die sich von häretischen oder betrügerischen Religionswegen fernhalten und die aus Mangel an Nahrung geschwächt und an Mitteln arm sind, bringen große geistige Frucht. Die Lehre lautet: Wohltätigkeit ist besonders verdienstvoll, wenn sie die wahrhaft Bedürftigen und Rechtschaffenen stützt, nicht die Anmaßung und Ausbeutung im Namen der Religion.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity bears the greatest merit when directed to the truly needy—those impoverished and weakened by lack of food—especially when they are not aligned with deceptive or heretical religious pretences. The verse emphasizes discernment in giving and prioritizing genuine suffering and integrity.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including the ethics of dāna (giving). Here he highlights which recipients make a gift highly fruitful: the poor and hungry who remain distant from pāṣaṇḍa (religious imposture).