Shloka 71
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
पर्यश्षन्ति च ये दारानग्निभृत्यातिथींस्तथा । उत्सन्नपितृदेवेज्यास्ते वै निरयगामिन:
paryaśnanti ca ye dārān agnibhṛtyātithīṁs tathā | utsannapitṛdevejyās te vai nirayagāminaḥ ||
Bhishma dit : Ceux qui mangent en négligeant leurs dépendants—l’épouse et la maisonnée—sans avoir d’abord versé les oblations dans le feu sacré et sans avoir nourri serviteurs et hôtes, et qui ont abandonné le culte dû aux ancêtres et aux dieux, sont assurément liés à l’enfer. L’enseignement souligne que la consommation personnelle devient péché lorsqu’elle méprise les devoirs rituels et les obligations sociales d’hospitalité et de sollicitude.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A householder must not eat selfishly: food should be preceded by offerings (to the sacred fire, gods, and ancestors) and by feeding those entitled to care—guests and dependents. Neglecting these duties turns eating into adharma and leads to grave demerit.
In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he warns about the moral and ritual consequences for householders who abandon ancestral/divine worship and fail to feed guests and dependents before taking their own meal.