Shloka 12
Śrāddha-dvija-parīkṣā: Paṅkti-dūṣa and Paṅkti-pāvana (श्राद्धे द्विजपरीक्षा—पङ्क्तिदूष-पङ्क्तिपावन)
कृषिभागी भवेच्छाद्धं कुर्वाण: सप्तमीं नूप । अष्टम्यां तु प्रकुर्वाणो वाणिज्ये लाभमाप्नुयात्,राजन! सप्तमीको श्राद्ध करनेवाला मनुष्य कृषिकर्ममें लाभ उठाता है और अष्टमीको श्राद्ध करनेवाले पुरुषको व्यापारमें लाभ होता है
kṛṣibhāgī bhavec chrāddhaṃ kurvāṇaḥ saptamīṃ nṛpa | aṣṭamyāṃ tu prakurvāṇo vāṇijye lābham āpnuyāt, rājan ||
Bhīṣma said: “O king, one who performs the śrāddha on the seventh lunar day becomes a sharer in the gains of agriculture; and one who performs it on the eighth attains profit in trade. Thus the rite, when done with due timing, is taught to yield fitting worldly prosperity while remaining grounded in duty toward the ancestors.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links the performance of śrāddha on specific lunar days with corresponding forms of worldly gain—Saptamī with agricultural benefit and Aṣṭamī with commercial profit—presenting ritual duty to ancestors as harmonized with orderly prosperity.
Bhīṣma is instructing the king (Yudhiṣṭhira in context of the Anuśāsana Parva) on the observances and fruits of śrāddha, detailing how different tithis are traditionally said to yield different practical outcomes.