Shloka 15
Śuka’s Nirveda: Vyāsa’s Admonition on Dharma, Impermanence, and ‘Imperishable Wealth’ (अक्षय-धन)
सत्कृता चैकपत्नी च जात्या योनिरिहेष्यते । ऋग्यजु:सामगो विद्वान् षट्कर्मा पात्रमुच्यते
satkṛtā caikapatnī ca jātyā yoniriheṣyate | ṛgyajuḥsāmago vidvān ṣaṭkarmā pātram ucyate ||
स्वजातीतल्या उत्तम कुलात जन्मलेली, पतीकडून सन्मानित आणि एकपत्नीव्रता (एकनिष्ठ) स्त्री येथे ‘उत्तम योनि’ मानली आहे; म्हणून अशा मातेकडून जन्मलेला पुरुष जन्मतः शुद्ध मानला जातो. तसेच जो ऋग्, यजुः आणि सामवेदांचा विद्वान असून सदैव षट्कर्मांचे आचरण करतो, तो कर्मतः शुद्ध व दानासाठी उत्तम पात्र म्हटला आहे।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma distinguishes two bases of worthiness: purity by birth (being born from a respected, faithful, well-born mother) and purity by conduct (a Brāhmaṇa’s Vedic learning and steady performance of the six prescribed duties), concluding that such a person is a ‘pātra’—a fit recipient of gifts and social trust.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by describing markers of social and ritual eligibility: the mother’s recognized virtue and lineage, and the Brāhmaṇa’s Vedic competence together with disciplined performance of traditional obligations.