Shloka 9
धुरि ये नावसीदन्ति विषये सदगवा इव । पितृदेवातिथिमुखा हव्यकव्याग्रभोजिन:
dhuri ye nāvasīdanti viṣaye sadgavā iva | pitṛdevātithimukhā havyakavyāgrabhojinaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Mereka yang tidak tenggelam atau goyah di bawah kuk tanggung jawab dalam kehidupan dunia—laksana lembu jantan yang baik, tak pernah mengendur saat memikul beban—tidak merasakan derita ketika menanggung beban dharma. Merekalah, seakan-akan, ‘mulut’ para dewa, leluhur, dan tamu: merekalah yang paling berhak menerima bagian pertama persembahan, baik havya maupun kavya.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfastness in bearing one’s responsibilities—especially the practical burdens of dharma in worldly life—is a mark of the truly virtuous. Such people become foremost beneficiaries of religious merit and social honor, symbolized by receiving the first portions in offerings to gods and ancestors and by being central to hospitality.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he praises those who do not falter under duty. Using the image of strong oxen under a yoke, he describes exemplary householders/virtuous persons as primary recipients in ritual and hospitality—metaphorically the ‘mouths’ through which gods, ancestors, and guests are served.