Shloka 25
Adhyāya 9: Pratiśruta-Dāna
The Duty to Fulfill Promised Gifts
तस्माद् दातव्यमेवेह प्रतिश्रुत्य युधिष्ठिर । यदीच्छेच्छो भनां जातिं प्राप्तुं भरतसत्तम
tasmād dātavyam eveha pratiśrutya yudhiṣṭhira | yadīcchec chobhanāṁ jātiṁ prāptuṁ bharatasattama ||
ビーシュマは言った。「ゆえに、ユディシュティラよ、いったん施しを約したなら、この現世において必ず与えねばならぬ。バーラタ族の最勝者よ、尊い生を得たいと願う者は、誓い立てたことを決して違えず成し遂げよ—とりわけブラーフマナに約したものは。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A pledged gift becomes a moral obligation: once you have promised to give, you must fulfill it. Bhīṣma links fidelity to one’s word—especially in acts of dāna—to the cultivation of merit that leads to an auspicious future birth.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous conduct. Here he emphasizes the duty of honoring promises of charity, presenting it as a concrete ethical rule with karmic consequences.