Shloka 22
Adharmic Victory as Unstable; Rules of Restraint, Mediation, and Conciliation (अधर्मविजय-अध्रुवत्व तथा क्षमा-नयः)
राजा दिवोदास अन्निहोत्र, यज्ञका अंगभूत हविष्य तथा भोजन भी हर लाये थे। इसीसे वे तिरस्कृत हुए ।। सराजकानि राष्ट्राणि नाभागो दक्षिणां ददौ | अन््यत्र श्रोत्रियस्वाच्च तापसार्थाच्च भारत
sarājakāni rāṣṭrāṇi nābhāgo dakṣiṇāṃ dadau | anyatra śrotriyasvāc ca tāpasārthāc ca bhārata ||
Bhīṣma said: “O Bhārata, Nābhāga did not grant the sacrificial fee (dakṣiṇā) to kingdoms that were without a king. He made exception only in two cases—when the claim belonged to a learned Vedic householder (śrotriya) or when it was for the support of ascetics (tāpasa), O Bhārata.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Gifts and ritual payments (dakṣiṇā) must be given according to dharma—based on rightful eligibility and proper purpose. Even when normal political order is absent, exceptions are justified for sustaining Vedic learning (śrotriya) and ascetic practice (tāpasa).
Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in Śānti Parva, cites Nābhāga’s rule about distributing dakṣiṇā: he did not allocate it to kingless polities, except where it was due to a qualified Vedic scholar or needed to support ascetics.