Shloka 47
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
अवेददब्रतचारित्रास्त्रिभिवरर्णर्युधिष्ठिर । मन्त्रवत्परिविष्यन्ते त्स्याधमों गवानृतम्
avedad-vrata-cāritrās tribhir varṇair yudhiṣṭhira | mantravat pariviṣyante teṣām adho gāvānṛtam ||
ビーシュマは言った。「ユディシュティラよ、三つの再生族—ブラーフマナ、クシャトリヤ、ヴァイシャ—の者たちが、シュラーダッダにおいて、定めのマントラを唱えつつ、ヴェーダの誓戒と規律ある行いを守らぬブラーフマナに食を供するなら、彼らもまた『牛にかけて偽りの誓いを立てる』に等しい罪を負う。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual acts like śrāddha require ethical discernment: feeding and honoring recipients who lack Vedic discipline and proper conduct, even with correct mantras, makes the giver share in serious sin—likened here to the grave offense of a false oath ‘upon a cow’.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. In this verse he warns about the consequences of serving śrāddha offerings to brāhmaṇas who do not follow Vedic vows and right conduct, emphasizing responsibility in choosing qualified recipients.