Shloka 48
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
उभौ हिनस्ति न भुनक्ति चैषा या चानृते दक्षिणा दीयते वै । आधघातिनी गर्लहितैषा पतन्ती तेषां प्रेतान्ू पातयेद् देवयानात्
bhīṣma uvāca | ubhau hinasti na bhunakti caiṣā yā cānṛte dakṣiṇā dīyate vai | ādhaghātinī garhitaiṣā patantī teṣāṃ pretān pātayed devayānāt |
Bhīṣma said: “A priestly fee (dakṣiṇā) given through falsehood benefits no one; it neither nourishes the giver nor is it truly enjoyed by the receiver. Such a condemned gift becomes destructive to both sides. Falling into sin, it can even cause the giver’s departed ancestors to fall from the devayāna path.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A gift or priestly fee given through falsehood or to an unworthy recipient becomes blameworthy and harmful: it fails to produce merit, damages both giver and receiver, and can even negatively affect the giver’s ancestral welfare.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (especially gifts and ritual propriety), he warns Yudhishthira that dakṣiṇā must be truthful and properly given; otherwise it turns into a destructive act with consequences extending to one’s ancestors and posthumous destiny.