Vipulopākhyāna—Ruci-rakṣā and Śakra’s Māyā (विपुलोपाख्यानम्—रुचिरक्षणं शक्रमाया च)
यथा श्वा भषितुं चैव हन्तुं चैवावसज्जते । एवं सम्भाषणार्थाय सर्वशास्त्रवधाय च
yathā śvā bhaṣituṃ caiva hantuṃ caivāvasajjate | evaṃ sambhāṣaṇārthāya sarvaśāstravadhāya ca ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—जसा कुत्रा भुंकण्यासाठी आणि चावण्यासाठी जवळ येतो, तसाच असा मनुष्य केवळ वादविवादासाठी व सर्व शास्त्रांचे खंडन करण्यासाठी इकडे-तिकडे भटकत राहतो. असा मनुष्य दानास पात्र नाही.
भीष्म उवाच
Charity should be given with discernment: one who approaches others only to quarrel and to undermine sacred learning is ethically unfit as a recipient, because the gift would support harmful conduct rather than dharma.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (especially norms around giving), he illustrates—through the simile of a dog that comes near to bark and bite—the character of a contentious person who seeks debate merely to attack and refute śāstra, and he marks such a person as not deserving of dāna.