Shloka 47
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
अवेददब्रतचारित्रास्त्रिभिवरर्णर्युधिष्ठिर । मन्त्रवत्परिविष्यन्ते त्स्याधमों गवानृतम्
avedad-vrata-cāritrās tribhir varṇair yudhiṣṭhira | mantravat pariviṣyante teṣām adho gāvānṛtam ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Ó Yudhiṣṭhira, quando homens das três ordens duas vezes nascidas—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya e vaiśya—servem alimento num śrāddha com os mantras apropriados a brāhmaṇas que não observam votos védicos nem conduta disciplinada, eles também incorrem no pecado equivalente ao de prestar falso juramento sobre uma vaca.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual acts like śrāddha require ethical discernment: feeding and honoring recipients who lack Vedic discipline and proper conduct, even with correct mantras, makes the giver share in serious sin—likened here to the grave offense of a false oath ‘upon a cow’.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. In this verse he warns about the consequences of serving śrāddha offerings to brāhmaṇas who do not follow Vedic vows and right conduct, emphasizing responsibility in choosing qualified recipients.