Shloka 20
प्रतिग्रहभेदः — The Distinction between Giving and Accepting
Vṛṣādarbhī–Saptarṣi Dialogue
निमे संकल्पितस्ते5यं पितृयज्ञस्तपोधन । मा ते भूद् भी: पूर्वदृष्टो धर्मो5यं ब्रह्मणा स्वयम्
nime saṅkalpitas te ’yaṃ pitṛyajñas tapodhana | mā te bhūd bhīḥ pūrvadṛṣṭo dharmo ’yaṃ brahmaṇā svayam ||
Bhīṣma said: “O Tapodhana Nimi, this rite of offering to the ancestors (pitṛ-yajña) that you have resolved upon is indeed proper. Do not be afraid of it. This very dharma was first directly realized and established by Brahmā himself.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When an act is grounded in dharma—here, the pitṛyajña—one should not fear performing it; its legitimacy rests on primordial authority, traced back to Brahmā’s own establishment of the rule.
Bhīṣma reassures Nimi, an ascetic king, that his decision to perform the ancestral rite is correct and should be done without anxiety, since the practice is an ancient, divinely sanctioned dharma.