Shloka 12
Jñāna-yoga and Karma-phala: Manu–Bṛhaspati on Akṣara and the Limits of Mantra
अमृतं ब्राह्मणोच्छिष्टं जनन्या हृदयं कृतम् । तज्जना: पर्युपासन्ते सत्यं सन्त: समासते
amṛtaṃ brāhmaṇocchiṣṭaṃ jananyā hṛdayaṃ kṛtam | taj janāḥ paryupāsante satyaṃ santaḥ samāsate ||
Dijo Bhishma: «La comida que queda después de que un brahmán ha comido es como néctar. Se vuelve tan benéfica como el corazón de una madre. Quienes la toman con respeto alcanzan lo Real; siendo virtuosos, llegan a morar en la Verdad misma».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverence toward the virtuous—symbolized by honoring and partaking of a Brahmin’s ucchiṣṭa—is presented as a dharmic act that purifies and leads one toward Satya (the Real/Truth).
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he praises a specific dharmic practice: treating the remnants of a Brahmin’s meal as sacred and beneficial, likening it to a mother’s nurturing care, and stating its spiritual fruit as abiding in Truth.