Shloka 41
अन्नदान-प्रशंसा (Praise of the Gift of Food) | Annadāna-Praśaṃsā
सो5हमेतादृशाल्लॉकान् दृष्टवा भरतसत्तम | यन्मे कृतं ब्राह्मणेषु न तप्ये तेन पार्थिव
so ’ham etādṛśāl lokān dṛṣṭvā bharatasattama | yan me kṛtaṃ brāhmaṇeṣu na tapye tena pārthiva ||
ಭರತಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠನೇ, ಭೂಪತೇ! ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣರಿಗಾಗಿ ನಾನು ಮಾಡಿದ ಕಾರ್ಯದ ಫಲವಾಗಿ ಇಂತಹ ಪುಣ್ಯಲೋಕಗಳನ್ನು ಕಂಡು ನಾನು ತೃಪ್ತನಾಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ, ರಾಜನೇ, ‘ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಪುಣ್ಯಕರ್ಮ ಏಕೆ ಮಾಡಲಿಲ್ಲ?’ ಎಂದು ನಾನು ದುಃಖಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ; ಪಶ್ಚಾತ್ತಾಪದಿಂದಲೂ ಸುಡುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes contentment grounded in dharma: when one has acted rightly—here, by serving and honoring Brahmanas—one should accept the resulting fruit without later self-torment or comparative regret about other possible merits.
In his instruction to the king, Bhishma reflects on the outcome of his past conduct toward Brahmanas. Having ‘seen’ the meritorious realms gained thereby, he tells Yudhiṣṭhira that he feels no remorse and is not troubled by thoughts of having missed other virtuous acts.