Shloka 21
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
प्रथम: कस्य दातव्यो मध्यम: क्व च गच्छति । उत्तरश्न स्मृत: कस्य एतदिच्छामि वेदितुम्
prathamaḥ kasya dātavyo madhyamaḥ kva ca gacchati | uttaraśnaḥ smṛtaḥ kasya etad icchāmi veditum ||
Bhīṣma said: “To whom should the first portion be given? Where does the middle portion go? And who is regarded as the one who eats last? This I wish to know.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry about proper order and entitlement in sharing food—who deserves precedence, how portions are allocated, and the virtue implied in eating last—pointing to dharma in hospitality and household conduct.
Bhīṣma, in an instructive discourse, asks for clarification on traditional norms of serving food: the recipient of the first share, the destination of the middle share, and the identity/ideal of the person who eats last.