Shloka 21

Devanagari script

अन्निहोत्राग्निशेषं च हविभोजनमेव च । आजहार दिवोदासस्ततो विप्रकृतो&भवत्‌

Transliteration

annihotrāgniśeṣaṃ ca havibhojanam eva ca | ājahāra divodāsas tato viprakṛto 'bhavat ||

Translation

Bhishma said: Divodāsa took for himself what remained from the Agnihotra fire and also the food that was meant as an oblation. Because of this act of appropriating what belonged to sacred rite and priestly due, he came to be regarded as having wronged the brāhmaṇas (and thus fell into blame).

Word by Word

अग्निहोत्राग्निशेषम्the remainder (left) of the agnihotra fire-offering

चand

हविभोजनम्the eating of the oblation (havis)

एवindeed/just

चand

आजहाराbrought/fetched

दिवोदासःDivodāsa (proper name)

ततःthen/thereupon

विप्रकृतःwronged/ill-treated (by a brāhmaṇa / by the learned)

अभवत्became/was

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Divodāsa

Agnihotra

Agni (sacrificial fire)

havis (oblation)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a king must not appropriate what belongs to sacred rites or priestly entitlement; violating ritual boundaries and disrespecting brāhmaṇas leads to moral blame and loss of dharmic standing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma cites Divodāsa as an example: by taking the Agnihotra remainder and consuming what was meant as havis, Divodāsa incurred the fault of wronging brāhmaṇas and became censured as viprakṛta.