Shloka 20
प्रतिग्रहभेदः — The Distinction between Giving and Accepting
Vṛṣādarbhī–Saptarṣi Dialogue
निमे संकल्पितस्ते5यं पितृयज्ञस्तपोधन । मा ते भूद् भी: पूर्वदृष्टो धर्मो5यं ब्रह्मणा स्वयम्
nime saṅkalpitas te ’yaṃ pitṛyajñas tapodhana | mā te bhūd bhīḥ pūrvadṛṣṭo dharmo ’yaṃ brahmaṇā svayam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô Tapodhana Nimi, ce rite d’offrande aux Ancêtres (pitṛ-yajña) que tu as résolu d’accomplir est bien conforme. N’en aie point peur. Ce dharma fut d’abord directement réalisé et établi par Brahmā lui-même.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When an act is grounded in dharma—here, the pitṛyajña—one should not fear performing it; its legitimacy rests on primordial authority, traced back to Brahmā’s own establishment of the rule.
Bhīṣma reassures Nimi, an ascetic king, that his decision to perform the ancestral rite is correct and should be done without anxiety, since the practice is an ancient, divinely sanctioned dharma.