Shloka 28
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
प्रियो हि मे ब्राह्मणो याचमानो दद्यामहं वो<श्चवतरीसहस्रम् । एकैकश: सवृषा: सम्प्रसूता: सर्वेषां वै शीघ्रगा: श्वेतरोमा:
bhīṣma uvāca | priyo hi me brāhmaṇo yācamāno dadyāmahaṃ vo ’śvatarī-sahasram | ekaikaśaḥ sa-vṛṣāḥ samprasūtāḥ sarveṣāṃ vai śīghragāḥ śvetaromāḥ |
ビーシュマは言った。「我に乞い願うために来るバラモンは、まことに我が愛する者である。ゆえに、汝ら一人ひとりに雌ラバを千頭ずつ与えよう。さらに汝らすべてに、白毛で足の速い牝牛を——いずれもすでに産み終えたものを——牡牛とともに授ける用意がある。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dāna-dharma: a righteous person should regard a worthy supplicant—especially a Brahmin seeking alms—with respect and affection, and respond with generous, timely gifts. The ethical emphasis is on readiness to give and on giving valuable, life-sustaining wealth (cattle), not merely token offerings.
Bhishma, speaking as an authority on dharma in the Anushasana Parva, describes his disposition toward Brahmin supplicants and declares the scale and quality of gifts he is prepared to give—thousands of she-mules and swift, white-coated, already-calved cows along with bulls—illustrating exemplary generosity.