Shloka 23
अलोभोपाख्यानम् — शुनःसख-यातुधानी-संवादः
The Allegory of Non-Greed: Śunaḥsakha and the Yātudhānī
इत्येषा पुरुषश्रेष्ठ श्राद्धोत्पत्ति्यथागमम् | व्याख्याता पूर्वनिर्दिष्टा दानं वक्ष्याम्यत: परम्
ity eṣā puruṣaśreṣṭha śrāddhotpattyathāgamam | vyākhyātā pūrvanirdiṣṭā dānaṁ vakṣyāmy ataḥ param ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Bester der Menschen, so habe ich — gemäß der überlieferten Darstellung der Schriften — Ursprung und rechte Ordnung des śrāddha erklärt, wie ich es zuvor angedeutet hatte. Nun will ich als Nächstes vom Geben, vom dāna, sprechen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames śrāddha as a practice grounded in āgama (authoritative tradition) and then transitions to dāna, implying that dharma is upheld both through correct ritual duty toward ancestors and through ethical generosity toward the living.
After completing his exposition on the origin and traditional procedure of śrāddha, Bhishma signals a new section of instruction, announcing that he will now explain the principles and practice of charitable giving (dāna).