Shloka 76
दानफलप्रकरणम् — उपानहदानं, तिलदानं, भूमिदानं, गोदानं, अन्नदानं च
Gifts and Their Stated Results: Footwear, Sesame, Land, Cows, and Food
आहितागग्निं सदायज्ञं कृशवृत्तिं प्रियातिथिम् । ये भजन्ति द्विजश्रेष्ठ नोपसर्पन्ति ते यमम्
āhitāgniṃ sadāyajñaṃ kṛśavṛttiṃ priyātithim | ye bhajanti dvijaśreṣṭha nopasarpanti te yamam ||
Bhīṣma dit : Ceux qui honorent et servent un brahmane d’exception—qui a établi les feux sacrés, accomplit chaque jour l’Agnihotra et les sacrifices, vit dans l’austérité avec peu de ressources et accueille les hôtes avec affection—n’entrent pas dans la portée de Yama (seigneur de la mort).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Supporting and honoring a disciplined, duty-bound, hospitable brahmin—especially one maintaining sacred fires and living with scant means—is presented as a powerful dharmic act that yields protection from Yama, i.e., freedom from fearful post-mortem consequences.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he praises the merit of serving exemplary householders devoted to agnihotra and yajña, emphasizing that such service brings auspicious results and averts the punitive reach of Yama.