Shloka 8

Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्

Devanagari script

विघसाशी कथं च स्याद्‌ सदा चैवातिथिप्रिय: । अमृताशी सदा च स्यात्‌ पवित्री च सदा भवेत्‌

Transliteration

vighasāśī kathaṃ ca syād sadā caivātithipriyaḥ | amṛtāśī sadā ca syāt pavitrī ca sadā bhavet ||

Translation

Bhīṣma berkata: “Bagaimanakah seseorang dapat menjadi vighasāśin—makan hanya yang berbaki setelah orang lain diberi makan—dan sentiasa gemar memuliakan tetamu? Bagaimanakah seseorang dapat hidup seolah-olah memakan amṛta, dan terus-menerus menyucikan diri dalam tingkah laku?”

Word by Word

विघसाशीone who eats remnants (after others)

कथम्how

चand

स्यात्would be / should be

सदाalways

चand

एवindeed / just

अतिथिप्रियःfond of guests

अमृताशीone who eats ambrosia (nectar) / one whose food is nectar

सदाalways

चand

स्यात्would be / should be

पवित्रीpurifier; purifying (one/thing)

चand

सदाalways

भवेत्would become / should be

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse points to dharma expressed through hospitality and self-restraint: one should prioritize feeding others (especially guests) before oneself, thereby cultivating purity and a life that feels ‘nectar-like’ through righteous conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he frames an inquiry about the disciplines and attitudes by which a person becomes devoted to guests, eats only after serving others, and attains a consistently purifying way of life.