Shloka 20

Nakṣatra-yoga-anusāreṇa Dāna-vidhiḥ

Gifts prescribed according to lunar mansions and yogas

Devanagari script

विशिष्ट: सर्वयज्ञानां नित्यं तात प्रवर्तताम्‌

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | viśiṣṭaḥ sarvayajñānāṃ nityaṃ tāta pravartatām |

Translation

Bhishma dit : «Ô cher enfant, que ce sacrifice — le plus éminent de tous — se poursuive sans interruption. Ô Yudhishthira, l’essor de ton rite, purifié par la foi et accompagné des dons convenables (dakṣiṇā), surpasse tous les autres sacrifices ; qu’il demeure donc toujours en action.»

Word by Word

• विशिष्टः: excellent/superior
• विशिष्टः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विशिष्ट
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वयज्ञानाम्: of all sacrifices
• सर्वयज्ञानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वयज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• नित्यम्: always/constantly
• नित्यम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य

• तात: dear one/son (vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तात
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• प्रवर्तताम्: let it continue/proceed
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र√वृत्
• Form: Imperative (Vidhi-lin), Third, Singular, Atmanepada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Yudhishthira
• yajña (sacrifice)
• dakṣiṇā (ritual gifts/fees)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that a sacrifice becomes truly superior when it is sustained regularly and performed with sincere faith and proper generosity (dakṣiṇā). Continuity, purity of intention, and rightful giving are presented as the ethical heart of ritual.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he praises Yudhishthira’s ongoing sacrificial practice—marked by faith and due gifts—and urges that it be maintained continually as an exemplary royal and moral duty.