Shloka 41
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
स्वकर्मनिरतानन्यान् कुले जातान् बहुश्रुतान् । इसलिये सब प्रकारकी चेष्टाओंसे ब्राह्मणोंकी परीक्षा करके ही उन्हें श्राद्धमें निमन्त्रित करना चाहिये। वे स्वकर्ममें तत्पर रहनेवाले, कुलीन और बहुश्रुत होने चाहिये || ४० $ ।।
svakarmaniratān anyān kule jātān bahuśrutān | tasmāt sarvaprakāracēṣṭābhiḥ brāhmaṇān parīkṣyaiva tān śrāddhe nimantrayet | te svakarme tatparāḥ kulīnā bahuśrutāś ca ||
Bhīṣma said: “Therefore, one should invite Brahmins to a śrāddha only after examining them through every kind of conduct and practical test. They should be devoted to their own prescribed duties, born in a reputable lineage, and well learned in sacred knowledge.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śrāddha should be performed with discernment: invite only those Brahmins who are steady in their prescribed duties, of reputable conduct and lineage, and genuinely learned—so that the rite remains ethically and ritually sound.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he lays down criteria for selecting invitees for ancestral rites, emphasizing examination of character and adherence to duty rather than mere appearance or claim.