Shloka 86
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
पवित्राणां पवित्र हि कनकं द्विजसत्तमा: । अग्नीषोमात्मकं चैव जातरूपमुदाह्ृतम्
pavitrāṇāṃ pavitra hi kanakaṃ dvijasattamāḥ | agnīṣomātmakaṃ caiva jātarūpam udāhṛtam ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Bester unter den Zweimalgeborenen, Gold ist wahrlich das Reinste unter allem, was reinigt. Es wird als ‘jātarūpa’ bezeichnet—als eine Substanz, deren Wesen selbst Agni und Soma in sich trägt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates gold as a supremely purifying substance within dharma discourse, grounding its sanctity in Vedic symbolism by describing it as embodying the Agni–Soma principle—thus legitimizing its ritual and ethical value, especially in contexts like offerings and gifting.
Bhīṣma, instructing the ‘best of the twice-born’ in Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma teachings, explains the special purity-status of gold and gives a traditional doctrinal reason for it: gold (jātarūpa) is said to be of the nature of Agni and Soma.