Shloka 86

पात्रलक्षण-परिक्षा (Pātra-Lakṣaṇa Parīkṣā) — Criteria for a Worthy Recipient

Devanagari script

तथैव देवता राजन्‌ नात्र कार्या विचारणा | राजन! यदि ब्राह्मण संतुष्ट हो जायँ तो पितर तथा देवता भी सदा प्रसन्न रहते हैं। इसमें कोई अन्यथा विचार नहीं करना चाहिये

Transliteration

tathaiva devatā rājan nātra kāryā vicāraṇā | rājan yadi brāhmaṇāḥ santuṣṭā bhavanti tarhi pitaraś ca devatāś ca sadā prasannā bhavanti | asmin na kiñcid anyathā vicārayitum arhasi ||

Translation

Bhishma dijo: «Así también, oh Rey: no hay aquí lugar para la duda ni para más deliberación. Si los brāhmaṇas quedan satisfechos, entonces los pitṛs, los antepasados, y los dioses permanecen siempre complacidos. Sobre este punto, no debes albergar pensamiento contrario.»

Word by Word

तथाthus, in the same way

एवindeed, just

देवताःthe deities

राजन्O king

नnot

अत्रhere, in this matter

कार्याto be done, necessary

विचारणाdeliberation, reconsideration

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

King (Yudhiṣṭhira, addressed as rājan)

Brāhmaṇas

Pitṛs (ancestors)

Devatās (gods)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma teaches that honoring and satisfying brāhmaṇas—through proper respect, gifts, and righteous conduct—has a wider spiritual effect: it brings the lasting favor of both the ancestors (pitṛs) and the gods (devatās).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he emphasizes, with certainty, that the king need not doubt this principle: the contentment of brāhmaṇas is a reliable means to secure divine and ancestral satisfaction.