Shloka 15
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
भस्मनीव हुत॑ हव्यं तथा पौनर्भवे द्विजे । ये तु धर्मव्यपेतेषु चारित्रापगतेषु च । हव्यं कव्यं प्रयच्छन्ति तेषां तत् प्रेत्य नश्यति
bhāsmanīva hutaṁ havyaṁ tathā paunarbhave dvije | ye tu dharmavyapeteṣu cāritrāpagateṣu ca | havyaṁ kavyaṁ prayacchanti teṣāṁ tat pretya naśyati ||
Bhishma berkata: “Seperti havis yang dicurahkan ke dalam abu menjadi sia-sia, demikian juga persembahan kepada seorang Brahmana ‘paunarbhava’ (yang terkait dengan perkahwinan semula/keadaan perkahwinan yang tidak teratur) menjadi tidak berbuah. Mereka yang memberikan persembahan kepada para dewa (havya) dan kepada para leluhur (kavya) kepada kaum dvija yang telah menyimpang daripada dharma dan jatuh daripada kelakuan mulia—apa yang mereka berikan itu musnah sesudah mati, tidak mendatangkan manfaat di alam sana.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ritual gifts and offerings (to gods or ancestors) require a worthy recipient: if given to a dvija who has fallen from dharma and proper conduct, the intended spiritual fruit is nullified—likened to pouring oblations into ashes.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including rules about gifts and śrāddha. Here he warns that offerings (havya/kavya) given to morally compromised or ritually unfit recipients do not benefit the giver in the afterlife.