Shloka 13
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
सोमविक्रयिणे विष्ठा भिषजे पूयशोणितम्
bhīṣma uvāca | somavikrayiṇe viṣṭhā bhiṣaje pūyaśoṇitam |
Bhishma said: “The food offered in a śrāddha, when given to one who sells soma, becomes for the Pitṛs like excrement; and when fed to a physician, it becomes like pus and blood—unfit to be received by the ancestors. Likewise, a śrāddha-gift given to one who earns his living by performing worship in temples is said to be wasted, yielding no fruit. Food given to a usurer is unstable, and what is given in śrāddha to one engaged in trade brings benefit neither in this world nor in the next.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śrāddha offerings are not merely about giving food; the recipient’s suitability (as defined by dharma-text norms) affects the spiritual efficacy. Bhishma uses stark metaphors to warn that giving śrāddha-food to certain livelihoods is treated as ritually unfit and fruitless for the ancestors.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma is teaching Yudhiṣṭhira about dharma, specifically rules and cautions regarding śrāddha and charitable gifts. This verse lists categories of recipients considered improper for śrāddha, emphasizing consequences for the rite’s intended benefit to the Pitṛs.