Shloka 8
यत् ते ते न करिष्यन्ति कृतं ते न भविष्यति । यज्ञान् साधय साधुभ्य: स्वाद्वन्नान् दक्षिणावत:,यदि वे तुम्हारा दान स्वीकार नहीं करेंगे तो तुम्हें पुण्य नहीं होगा; अतः श्रेष्ठ पुरुषोंके लिये स्वादिष्ट अन्न और दक्षिणासे युक्त यज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान करो
yat te te na kariṣyanti kṛtaṁ te na bhaviṣyati | yajñān sādhaya sādhubhyaḥ svādvannān dakṣiṇāvataḥ ||
If those worthy recipients do not accept your gift, then for you it will not become a completed meritorious act. Therefore, perform sacrifices properly—offering to the virtuous—providing pleasing food and gifts of dakṣiṇā, so that your charity becomes fruitful and aligned with dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A gift or religious act bears fruit when it is properly completed—given in the right way to worthy recipients. Hence one should perform yajñas and acts of giving with appropriate offerings (good food) and dakṣiṇā, directed to virtuous persons, so that the intended merit is realized.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma instructs on dharma, especially the ethics of dāna and ritual conduct. Here he advises that if intended recipients do not accept one’s offering, the act is not fulfilled; therefore one should arrange sacrifices and gifts so they are acceptable and properly bestowed upon the virtuous.