Shloka 22
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
राजन! जो ब्राह्मण रुपया-पैसा बढ़ानेके लिये लोगोंको ब्याजपर ऋण देता हो अथवा जो सस्ता अन्न खरीदकर उसे मँहगे भावपर बेचता और उसका मुनाफा खाता हो अथवा प्राणियोंके क्रय-विक्रयसे जीविका चलाता हो, ऐसे ब्राह्मण श्राद्धमें बुलाने योग्य नहीं हैं ।।
rājan! yo brāhmaṇaḥ rūpya-paisaṃ vardhayituṃ lokān vyājena ṛṇaṃ dadāti, athavā sastaṃ annaṃ krītvā taṃ maṅhge bhāve vikrīya lābhaṃ bhuṅkte, athavā prāṇināṃ kraya-vikrayena jīvikāṃ karoti—tādṛśā brāhmaṇāḥ śrāddhe āhvātum na yogyāḥ. strīpūrvāḥ kāṇḍapṛṣṭhāśnī yāvantaḥ bharatarṣabha | ajapā brāhmaṇāś caiva śrāddhe nārhanti ketanam ||
Bhīṣma said: “O King, a Brahmin who lends money at interest to increase his wealth, or who buys grain cheaply and sells it at a higher price to live on profit, or who sustains himself by trading in living beings—such Brahmins are not fit to be invited to a śrāddha. Likewise, O bull among the Bharatas, those who live off a woman’s earnings, those associated with prostitution (as husbands/keepers), and those who neglect the daily disciplines of Gāyatrī-japa and sandhyā-vandana—such Brahmins too are not worthy to be seated and honored in a śrāddha.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that śrāddha invitations should go to Brahmins whose livelihood and daily discipline align with dharma; those engaged in usury, profiteering, trafficking in living beings, or neglect of obligatory recitations and sandhyā worship are deemed unfit for ritual honor.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma advises King Yudhiṣṭhira about proper conduct and qualifications connected to śrāddha rites, specifying categories of Brahmins who should not be invited or seated for the ceremony.