Shloka 12
Jñāna-yoga and Karma-phala: Manu–Bṛhaspati on Akṣara and the Limits of Mantra
अमृतं ब्राह्मणोच्छिष्टं जनन्या हृदयं कृतम् । तज्जना: पर्युपासन्ते सत्यं सन्त: समासते
amṛtaṃ brāhmaṇocchiṣṭaṃ jananyā hṛdayaṃ kṛtam | taj janāḥ paryupāsante satyaṃ santaḥ samāsate ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನು ಭೋಜನ ಮಾಡಿದ ನಂತರ ಉಳಿದ ಅನ್ನ ಅಮೃತದಂತೆ; ಅದು ತಾಯಿಯ ಹೃದಯದಂತೆ ಹಿತಕರವೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿದೆ. ಅದನ್ನು ಭಕ್ತಿಶ್ರದ್ಧೆಯಿಂದ ಸೇವಿಸುವವರು ಸತ್ಪುರುಷರು; ಅವರು ಸತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನೆಲೆಸಿ, ಸತ್ಯಸ್ವರೂಪ ಪರಬ್ರಹ್ಮವನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverence toward the virtuous—symbolized by honoring and partaking of a Brahmin’s ucchiṣṭa—is presented as a dharmic act that purifies and leads one toward Satya (the Real/Truth).
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he praises a specific dharmic practice: treating the remnants of a Brahmin’s meal as sacred and beneficial, likening it to a mother’s nurturing care, and stating its spiritual fruit as abiding in Truth.