Shloka 13
ऋत्विग्धर्मः, दक्षिणा-न्यायः, तपसः परमार्थः
Ritvij-Dharma, the Norm of Dakṣiṇā, and the Higher Meaning of Tapas
यज्ञाज़ूं दक्षिणा तात वेदानां परिबृंहणम् । न यज्ञा दक्षिणाहीनास्तारयन्ति कथंचन,सोमो राजा ब्राह्मणानामित्येषा वैदिकी स्थिति: । तं च विक्रेतुमिच्छन्ति न वृथा वृत्तिरिष्यते वेदोंका यह सिद्धान्त है कि सोम ब्राह्मणोंका राजा है; परंतु यज्ञके लिये ब्राह्मणलोग उसे भी बेच देनेकी इच्छा रखते हैं। जहाँ यज्ञ आदि कोई अनिवार्य कारण उपस्थित न हो वहाँ व्यर्थ ही उदरपूर्तिके लिये सोमरसका विक्रय अभीष्ट नहीं है
yajñāzuṃ dakṣiṇā tāta vedānāṃ paribṛṃhaṇam | na yajñā dakṣiṇāhīnāstārāyanti kathaṃcana, somo rājā brāhmaṇānāmityeṣā vaidikī sthitiḥ | taṃ ca vikretumicchanti na vṛthā vṛttiriṣyate |
Bhishma said: “O dear one, the sacrificial fee (dakṣiṇā) is a true support and enrichment of the Vedas. Sacrifices that are without dakṣiṇā do not lead anyone across (to merit) in any way. The Vedic rule is this: Soma is the king of the Brahmins. Yet they even wish to sell him. Still, mere livelihood pursued in vain is not approved—selling Soma simply to fill the belly, when no unavoidable sacrificial necessity is present, is not considered proper.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dakṣiṇā is integral to yajña and to sustaining Vedic learning; sacred things like Soma should not be commodified for mere subsistence. Only compelling ritual necessity can justify such handling—otherwise it becomes improper livelihood.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he comments on ritual propriety and Brahmin conduct: he affirms the Vedic status of Soma as ‘king of the Brahmins’ while criticizing the impulse to sell Soma merely for income, especially when no obligatory sacrificial context requires it.