Shloka 11
Āśrama-dharma: Duties of the Four Life-Stages (आश्रमधर्मः)
कुर्वीतापत्यसंतानमथो दद्याद् यजेत च । संविभज्य च भोक्तव्यं धन॑ सद्धिरितीर्यते
kurvītāpatyasantānam atho dadyād yajeta ca | saṁvibhajya ca bhoktavyaṁ dhanaṁ saddhir itīryate ||
Bhishma said: “One should beget and continue one’s lineage, one should give in charity, and one should perform sacrifices (yajña). Wealth, it is taught by the virtuous, is to be enjoyed only after sharing it—by distributing it rightly among others.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse summarizes key duties of a householder: sustain family continuity (offspring/lineage), practice generosity (dāna), perform sacrificial/religious obligations (yajña), and treat wealth as legitimate to enjoy only when it is shared—i.e., used with distribution and social responsibility.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he states a normative rule taught by the virtuous: wealth should not be hoarded for private enjoyment but should be apportioned and shared, alongside fulfilling family and ritual duties.