Shloka 15
Vipulopākhyāna—Ruci-rakṣā and Śakra’s Māyā (विपुलोपाख्यानम्—रुचिरक्षणं शक्रमाया च)
यथा श्वा भषितुं चैव हन्तुं चैवावसज्जते । एवं सम्भाषणार्थाय सर्वशास्त्रवधाय च
yathā śvā bhaṣituṃ caiva hantuṃ caivāvasajjate | evaṃ sambhāṣaṇārthāya sarvaśāstravadhāya ca ||
Bhīṣma said: “Just as a dog comes close in order to bark and to bite, so too does such a person roam about—seeking only argument and the destruction (refutation) of all śāstras. A person of this sort is not a fit recipient of gifts.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Charity should be given with discernment: one who approaches others only to quarrel and to undermine sacred learning is ethically unfit as a recipient, because the gift would support harmful conduct rather than dharma.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (especially norms around giving), he illustrates—through the simile of a dog that comes near to bark and bite—the character of a contentious person who seeks debate merely to attack and refute śāstra, and he marks such a person as not deserving of dāna.