Shloka 18
Śrī-nivāsa: Traits and Conditions for the Abode of Prosperity (श्री-निवासः)
यस्मिज्जनो हव्यभुजं जुहोति गोब्राह्मणं चार्चति देवताश्च । काले च पुष्पैर्बलय: क्रियन्ते तस्मिन् गृहे नित्यमुपैमि वासम्
yasmin jano havyabhujaṁ juhoti gobrāhmaṇaṁ cārcati devatāś ca | kāle ca puṣpair balayaḥ kriyante tasmin gṛhe nityam upaimi vāsam ||
Bhishma berkata: “Di rumah yang orangnya kerap mempersembahkan oblation ke dalam api suci, yang memuliakan lembu dan brahmana serta menyembah para dewa, dan yang pada waktunya melakukan persembahan serta mempersembahkan bunga—di rumah itulah aku sentiasa datang bersemayam.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Auspiciousness and well-being abide in a home that sustains daily sacred duty: offerings to Agni, reverence for cows and brāhmaṇas, worship of the gods, and timely ritual offerings. The verse links ethical reverence and disciplined observance with the ‘residence’ of prosperity/fortune.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he describes the kind of household where auspicious presence (often understood as Śrī/Lakṣmī in the broader passage) naturally dwells—one marked by sacrifice, worship, and respect for key pillars of social-religious order.