Shloka 17
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
अनुयोक्ता च यो विप्रो अनुयुक्तश्चन भारत । नाहतस्तावघपि श्राद्ध ब्रहद्मविक्रयिणौ हि तो
anuyoktā ca yo vipro ’nuyuktaś ca nara-bhārata | nāhatas tāv aghaṃ api śrāddhe brahma-vikrayiṇau hi tau ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Wahai keturunan Bharata, brāhmaṇa yang mengupah dirinya untuk mengajar dan brāhmaṇa yang mengupah guru dengan bayaran—kedua-duanya, pada hakikatnya, adalah pedagang ilmu suci Veda. Oleh itu, walaupun mereka tidak bercela dalam hal lain, mereka tidak patut termasuk antara yang dijemput ke śrāddha.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred learning (brahma/veda) should not be treated as a commodity. When teaching or learning is conducted as a wage-transaction, it is likened to ‘selling the Veda,’ and such persons are deemed unsuitable for participation as invitees in śrāddha rites.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma and ritual conduct, he specifies categories of people who should not be included among those invited to a śrāddha. Here he excludes both the brāhmaṇa who teaches for wages and the one who learns by paying wages, calling them ‘brahma-vikrayin’ (traders in sacred knowledge).