Shloka 28
Adhyāya 64: Dāna-prakāra—Suvarṇa, Pānīya-dāna, Ghṛta-dāna, and Upakaraṇa-dāna
Utility Gifts
यदि ते तादृशो राष्ट्रे विद्वान सीदेत् क्षुधा द्विज: । भ्रूणहत्यां च गच्छेथा: कृत्वा पापमिवोत्तमम्,राजन! यदि तुम्हारे राज्यमें कोई वैसा विद्वान् ब्राह्मण भूखसे कष्ट पा रहा हो तो तुम्हें भ्रूण-हत्याका पाप लगेगा और कोई बड़ा भारी पाप करनेसे मनुष्यकी जो दुर्गति होती है, वही तुम्हारी भी होगी
yadi te tādṛśo rāṣṭre vidvān sīdet kṣudhā dvijaḥ | bhrūṇahatyāṃ ca gacchethāḥ kṛtvā pāpam ivottamam, rājan |
Bhīṣma berkata: “Wahai Raja, jika dalam wilayahmu seorang Brahmana terpelajar yang sebegitu mulia menderita kerana kelaparan, engkau akan menanggung dosa pembunuhan janin; dan kejatuhan yang dahsyat yang menimpa pelaku jenayah besar akan menjadi bahagianmu juga.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king is morally accountable for the welfare of the virtuous and learned in his realm; allowing a deserving brahmin to suffer hunger is treated as a grave dereliction, equated here with the great sin of foeticide, implying severe spiritual and ethical consequences for negligent governance.
Bhishma is instructing the king on rajadharma in the Anushasana Parva, warning that failure to provide protection and sustenance to a worthy learned brahmin within the kingdom brings heavy sin and a disastrous fate, as though the king himself had committed a major crime.