Shloka 18
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
अग्रणीर्य: कृत: पूर्व वर्णावरपरिग्रह: । ब्राह्मण: सर्वविद्योडपि राजन् नाहति केतनम्
agraṇīr yaḥ kṛtaḥ pūrvaṃ varṇāvaraparigrahaḥ | brāhmaṇaḥ sarvavidyāḍhyo 'pi rājan nārhati ketanam ||
भीष्म उवाच—राजन्, यो ब्राह्मणः पूर्वं समाजस्य अग्रणीः कृतः, पश्चात् तु वर्णावरपरिग्रहं कृत्वा (शूद्रस्त्रीविवाहादिना) दूषितविवाहं समाचरति, स सर्वविद्योपेतोऽपि श्राद्धे निमन्त्रणीयो न भवति।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual eligibility in śrāddha is presented as dependent not only on learning but also on adherence to prescribed social and marital norms; transgressing those norms can disqualify a person from being invited, even if highly learned.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on dharma, including rules for ancestral rites (śrāddha). Here he states a criterion for whom one should not invite to participate in śrāddha: a Brahmin who, despite former eminence and great learning, has entered an improper cross-order marriage.