Shloka 9
अत्रेः तपोबलप्रकाशः तथा च्यवनस्य सोमाधिकारः
Atri’s Illumination by Tapas; Cyavana and Soma-Entitlement
व्रीहौ पुष्पे फले चैव जले पिष्टमये तथा । यावके दधिदुग्धे च सावित्रीं शतशो5न्विताम्
vrīhau puṣpe phale caiva jale piṣṭamaye tathā | yāvake dadhidugdhe ca sāvitrīṃ śataśo 'nvitām ||
Bhīṣma said: “If one accepts (as alms or gifts) rice, flowers, fruits, water, flour-made preparations, barley gruel, curd, or milk, one should accompany that acceptance with repeated recitation of the Sāvitrī (Gāyatrī) mantra—hundreds of times.” The teaching holds that even ordinary, permitted gifts carry ethical weight: purity is maintained not merely by refusing, but by mindful restraint and expiatory discipline when receiving necessities.
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when receiving ordinary, allowable items (food and simple offerings), one should guard inner purity through discipline—here, repeated recitation of the Sāvitrī/Gāyatrī mantra—so that acceptance does not become spiritually careless or ethically compromising.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and proper conduct. This verse gives a specific rule of expiation/observance connected with accepting certain gifts (pratigraha), prescribing extensive Gāyatrī (Sāvitrī) recitation as a purificatory accompaniment.