Shloka 15
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
देवेभ्यश्न पितृभ्यश्न संश्रितेभ्यस्तथैव च | अवशिष्टनि यो भुंक्ते तमाहुर्विघसाशिनम्
devebhyaś ca pitṛbhyaś ca saṁśritebhyaś tathaiva ca | avaśiṣṭaṁ yo bhuṅkte tam āhur vighasāśinam ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ആദ്യം ദേവന്മാർക്കും പിതൃകൾക്കും, അതുപോലെ ആശ്രിതർക്കും ആഹാരം അർപ്പിച്ച്, പിന്നെ ശേഷിക്കുന്നതു ഭക്ഷിക്കുന്നവനെ ‘വിഘസാശി’ എന്നു വിളിക്കുന്നു.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should not consume food as a private entitlement. Dharma requires first honoring higher obligations—offerings to devas and pitṛs—and social obligations—feeding dependents/those under one’s protection—before eating what remains. Such disciplined, sharing-based consumption is praised as vighasāśin.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he defines a virtuous mode of household living: the proper order of giving and eating. The verse characterizes the person who eats only after offerings and distribution as ‘vighasāśin’.