Shloka 26
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
पाक्तेयांस्तु प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञेयास्ते पंक्तिपावना: । त्रिणाचिकेत: पज्चाग्निस्त्रिसुपर्ण: षडंगवित्
pākteyāṁstu pravakṣyāmi jñeyāste paṅktipāvanāḥ | triṇāciketaḥ pañcāgnis trisūparṇaḥ ṣaḍaṅgavit ||
Bhīṣma said: “Now I shall describe those Brāhmaṇas known as pāṅkteyas; they are to be recognized as purifiers of the dining line. One who recites the Triṇāciketa formulas, maintains the five sacred fires (pañcāgni), recites the Trisūparṇa hymns, and is learned in the six limbs of Vedic study (vedāṅga)—such a person is fit to sanctify the company at a shared meal.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual and ethical fitness for communal religious dining is grounded in disciplined Vedic practice: maintaining sacred fires, reciting specific Vedic formulas, and mastering the Vedāṅgas. Such learning and observance are presented as purifying not only the individual but also the social-ritual setting (the dining line).
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues defining who is qualified to sanctify a shared meal. He lists marks of a ‘paṅkti-pāvana’ Brahmin—one whose Vedic rites and learning make him an appropriate presence in a ritual dining row.