Shloka 9
धुरि ये नावसीदन्ति विषये सदगवा इव । पितृदेवातिथिमुखा हव्यकव्याग्रभोजिन:
dhuri ye nāvasīdanti viṣaye sadgavā iva | pitṛdevātithimukhā havyakavyāgrabhojinaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Those who do not sink or falter under the yoke of responsibility in worldly life—like good oxen that never slacken while bearing a load—do not feel hardship in carrying the burden of dharma. Such people become, as it were, the ‘mouths’ of the gods, the ancestors, and guests: they are the foremost entitled to receive the first portions of offerings, whether in rites for the gods (havya) or for the ancestors (kavya).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfastness in bearing one’s responsibilities—especially the practical burdens of dharma in worldly life—is a mark of the truly virtuous. Such people become foremost beneficiaries of religious merit and social honor, symbolized by receiving the first portions in offerings to gods and ancestors and by being central to hospitality.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he praises those who do not falter under duty. Using the image of strong oxen under a yoke, he describes exemplary householders/virtuous persons as primary recipients in ritual and hospitality—metaphorically the ‘mouths’ through which gods, ancestors, and guests are served.