Shloka 12
Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)
पाद्यमासनमेवाथ दीपमन्नं प्रतिश्रयम् । दद्यादतिथिपूजार्थ स यज्ञ: पजचदक्षिण:
Bhīṣma uvāca: pādyaṃ āsanam eva atha dīpam annaṃ pratiśrayam | dadyād atithipūjārthaṃ sa yajñaḥ pañcadakṣiṇaḥ ||
Bhishma dit : «Pour honorer l’hôte, qu’on offre de l’eau pour laver les pieds, un siège, une lampe pour la lumière, de la nourriture et un abri. Cette offrande en cinq dons, faite dans l’hospitalité, est appelée le “sacrifice aux cinq présents” (pañca-dakṣiṇā-yajña)».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hospitality is treated as a sacred duty: offering a guest five essentials—foot-washing water, a seat, light, food, and shelter—is itself a yajña, a meritorious religious act.
Bhishma is instructing on dharma, defining a specific form of righteous conduct: the proper reception of an atithi (guest) through five concrete offerings, named the pañcadakṣiṇa-yajña.