Shloka 46
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
सम्भोजनी नाम पिशाचदक्षिणा सा नैव देवान् न पितृनुपैति । इहैव सा भ्राम्यति हीनपुण्या शालान्तरे गौरिव नष्टवत्सा
sambhojanī nāma piśāca-dakṣiṇā sā naiva devān na pitṝn upaiti | ihaiva sā bhrāmyati hīna-puṇyā śālāntare gaur iva naṣṭa-vatsā ||
Bhishma dit : La rétribution (dakṣiṇā) issue des festins réciproques—quand on mange au śrāddha les uns des autres puis qu’on se donne et se reçoit des paiements en retour—s’appelle la « piśāca-dakṣiṇā », un don fantomatique et impur. Elle n’atteint ni les dieux ni les Pitṛs (ancêtres). Dépourvue de mérite, elle erre en ce monde même, telle une vache qui a perdu son veau, tournant sans repos dans l’étable ; de même, ces paiements échangés demeurent ici et ne parviennent pas aux ancêtres.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that ritual gifts (dakṣiṇā) must be given with sincerity and proper intent; payments exchanged merely as reciprocal compensation for attending one another’s śrāddha are spiritually sterile—called piśāca-dakṣiṇā—and yield no benefit to gods or ancestors.
In his instruction on dharma and śrāddha conduct, Bhīṣma warns against a social practice of mutual feasting with give-and-take payments. He illustrates its futility with a simile: like a cow that has lost her calf and keeps circling within the cowshed, such meritless dakṣiṇā remains confined to this world and does not reach the Pitṛs.