Shloka 17
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
नरेश्वर! जो देवताओं, पितरों और आश्रितोंको भोजन करानेके बाद बचे हुए अन्नको ही स्वयं भोजन करता है उसे विघसाशी कहते हैं। उन मनुष्योंको ब्रह्मधाममें अक्षय लोकोंकी प्राप्ति होती है तथा गन्धर्वोंसहित अप्सराएँ उनकी सेवामें उपस्थित होती हैं ।।
nareśvara! yo devatābhyaḥ pitṛbhyaś ca āśritebhyaś ca bhojanaṃ dattvā paścād avaśiṣṭam annaṃ svayaṃ bhuṅkte sa vighasāśī iti kathyate. teṣāṃ manuṣyāṇāṃ brahmadhāmani akṣayalokaprāptir bhavati, gandharvaiḥ saha apsarasaś ca teṣāṃ sevāyāṃ tiṣṭhanti. devatātithibhiḥ sārdhaṃ pitṛbhyaś ca bhāgaṃ dattvā ye svayaṃ bhuñjate, te iha loke putrapautraiḥ saha ramante; mṛtyoḥ paraṃ ca teṣāṃ gatir anuttamā bhavati.
Bhīṣma disse: “Ó rei, aquele que primeiro alimenta os deuses, os ancestrais e os que dele dependem, e depois come apenas o que sobra, é chamado vighasāśin — o que se alimenta das sobras. Tais pessoas alcançam mundos imperecíveis no domínio de Brahman, e as Apsarases, juntamente com os Gandharvas, permanecem prontas a servi-las. E aqueles que, após separar uma porção de alimento para os ancestrais junto com os deuses e os hóspedes, então comem—neste mundo regozijam-se com filhos e netos, e após a morte atingem o estado supremo, sem igual.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Householder dharma is expressed through priority: first offer food to gods, ancestors, guests, and dependents, and only then eat. This self-restraint and generosity are said to yield both worldly well-being (family joy and continuity) and the highest post-mortem attainment.
In Bhishma’s instruction to the king within the Anushasana Parva, he defines the ethical ideal of the vighasāśin and describes the rewards promised for those who distribute food properly—linking daily domestic practice with cosmic merit and ultimate destiny.