Shloka 26
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
पाक्तेयांस्तु प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञेयास्ते पंक्तिपावना: । त्रिणाचिकेत: पज्चाग्निस्त्रिसुपर्ण: षडंगवित्
pākteyāṁstu pravakṣyāmi jñeyāste paṅktipāvanāḥ | triṇāciketaḥ pañcāgnis trisūparṇaḥ ṣaḍaṅgavit ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Ahora describiré a los brāhmaṇas llamados pāṅkteyas; a ellos se les debe reconocer como purificadores de la fila del banquete. Quien recita las fórmulas Triṇāciketa, mantiene los cinco fuegos sagrados (pañcāgni), recita los himnos Trisūparṇa y es versado en los seis miembros del estudio védico—tal persona es apta para santificar la compañía en una comida compartida.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual and ethical fitness for communal religious dining is grounded in disciplined Vedic practice: maintaining sacred fires, reciting specific Vedic formulas, and mastering the Vedāṅgas. Such learning and observance are presented as purifying not only the individual but also the social-ritual setting (the dining line).
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues defining who is qualified to sanctify a shared meal. He lists marks of a ‘paṅkti-pāvana’ Brahmin—one whose Vedic rites and learning make him an appropriate presence in a ritual dining row.