Shloka 85
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
पवित्र च पवित्राणां मड्गलानां च मंगलम् । यत् सुवर्ण स भगवानग्निरीश: प्रजापति:
pavitraṃ ca pavitrāṇāṃ maṅgalānāṃ ca maṅgalam | yat suvarṇaṃ sa bhagavān agnir īśaḥ prajāpatiḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Gold is the purest among all that is pure, and the most auspicious among all that is auspicious. For that which is gold is none other than the Blessed Lord Agni—indeed the Lord (Īśa) and Prajāpati himself.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that gold is supremely pure and auspicious because it is identified with divine principles—Agni, Īśa, and Prajāpati. This sacral identification supports the ethical ideal that wealth, when treated as sacred and used in dāna (charitable giving), becomes a vehicle of purification and auspicious merit rather than mere possession.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dāna-dharma instruction, Bhishma is explaining the sanctity and origin/status of gold (suvarṇa). He frames gold as intrinsically holy by equating it with major Vedic divinities, thereby encouraging its respectful use—especially in ritual and gifting—as part of righteous conduct.