Shloka 53
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
अकल्ककस्य विप्रस्य रौक्ष्यात् करकृतात्मन: । वटवो यस्य भिक्षन्ति तेभ्यो दत्त महाफलम्
akalkakasya viprasya raukṣyāt karakṛtātmanaḥ | vaṭavo yasya bhikṣanti tebhyo dattaṃ mahāphalam ||
Bhishma said: When a guileless brāhmaṇa, hardened by extreme poverty, receives a little food in his hands and his hungry children at once beg him—“Give to me, give to me”—a gift given to that brāhmaṇa and to those children yields great spiritual fruit.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity directed to the truly needy—especially a guileless, impoverished brāhmaṇa and his hungry children—produces great merit; the recipient’s innocence and distress intensify the ethical value of the gift.
Bhishma is instructing on dharma of giving, describing a destitute brāhmaṇa whose children immediately beg for any food he obtains, and declaring that giving to such a household is supremely fruitful.