Shloka 8
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
विघसाशी कथं च स्याद् सदा चैवातिथिप्रिय: । अमृताशी सदा च स्यात् पवित्री च सदा भवेत्
vighasāśī kathaṃ ca syād sadā caivātithipriyaḥ | amṛtāśī sadā ca syāt pavitrī ca sadā bhavet ||
ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਮਨੁੱਖ ਕਿਵੇਂ ‘ਵਿਘਸਾਸ਼ੀ’ ਬਣੇ—ਅਰਥਾਤ ਹੋਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਤ੍ਰਿਪਤ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਜੋ ਬਚੇ ਉਹੀ ਖਾਏ—ਅਤੇ ਸਦਾ ਅਤਿਥੀ-ਸਤਿਕਾਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਰੱਖੇ? ਉਹ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ-ਭੋਜੀ ਵਾਂਗ ਜੀਵੇ ਅਤੇ ਆਚਰਨ ਨਾਲ ਨਿਰੰਤਰ ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਬਣਿਆ ਰਹੇ?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.