Shloka 25
Adhyāya 9: Pratiśruta-Dāna
The Duty to Fulfill Promised Gifts
तस्माद् दातव्यमेवेह प्रतिश्रुत्य युधिष्ठिर । यदीच्छेच्छो भनां जातिं प्राप्तुं भरतसत्तम
tasmād dātavyam eveha pratiśrutya yudhiṣṭhira | yadīcchec chobhanāṁ jātiṁ prāptuṁ bharatasattama ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Por eso, oh Yudhiṣṭhira, una vez prometido un don, debe ser entregado sin falta aquí, en esta misma vida. Oh el mejor de los Bhāratas, si alguien desea alcanzar un nacimiento noble, ha de cumplir infaliblemente lo que ha empeñado—y en especial lo que ha prometido a un brāhmaṇa».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A pledged gift becomes a moral obligation: once you have promised to give, you must fulfill it. Bhīṣma links fidelity to one’s word—especially in acts of dāna—to the cultivation of merit that leads to an auspicious future birth.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous conduct. Here he emphasizes the duty of honoring promises of charity, presenting it as a concrete ethical rule with karmic consequences.