Shloka 9
अहिंसयित्वा ब्रह्महत्याविधानम् / Brahmahatyā incurred without physical violence
भीष्म उवाच कुलीन: कर्मकृद् वैद्यस्तथैवाप्यानृशंस्यवान् | ह्वीमानृजु: सत्यवादी पात्र पूर्वे च ये त्रय:
bhīṣma uvāca | kulīnaḥ karmakṛd vaidyaḥ tathaivāpyānṛśaṃsyavān | hrīmān ṛjuḥ satyavādī pātraṃ pūrve ca ye trayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Est digne de recevoir celui qui est de noble lignée, appliqué aux actes justes, instruit des Veda et plein de compassion ; et qui, de surcroît, est pudique, droit et véridique. Et les trois catégories mentionnées plus haut—(le brahmane savant inconnu, le parent et l’ascète)—sont pareillement tenues pour d’excellents récipiendaires des dons.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma defines the ethical qualifications of a 'pātra'—a fit recipient for charity: noble conduct and lineage, diligence in duty, Vedic learning, compassion, modesty, straightforwardness, and truthfulness; and he reaffirms that the three previously listed Brahmins (unknown learned man, kinsman, and ascetic) are also excellent recipients.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dāna-dharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira by listing the traits that make a Brahmin an ideal recipient of gifts, linking these virtues to the earlier classification of three especially worthy recipients.