Shloka 8
Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline
नाहं तत् प्रतिगृह्ञामि न सा तुष्टिकरी मम,अल्पबुद्धि मानव अन्य प्रकारसे मेरी व्यर्थ पूजा करते हैं। मैं उसे ग्रहण नहीं करता हूँ। वह पूजा मुझे संतोष प्रदान करनेवाली नहीं हैं
nāhaṃ tat pratigṛhṇāmi na sā tuṣṭikarī mama | alpabuddhi mānava anya-prakāreṇa me vyartha-pūjāṃ kurvanti | ahaṃ tāṃ na gṛhṇāmi | sā pūjā mama santoṣaṃ na janayati ||
Bhishma said: “I do not accept that kind of offering, for it does not bring me contentment. People of little understanding worship me in misguided ways, and their worship becomes fruitless. I do not receive such worship, because it does not truly satisfy me.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worship or reverence is meaningful only when done with proper understanding and right intention; misguided or merely external acts do not truly please the worthy recipient and become fruitless.
Bhishma, speaking as a moral instructor in the Anushasana Parva, rejects a certain kind of misguided worship/offerings, stating that he does not accept what is performed without discernment because it does not bring genuine satisfaction.