Shloka 49
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
भीष्म उवाच येषां दारा: प्रतीक्षन्ते सुवृष्टिमिव कर्षका: । उच्छेषपरिशेषं हि तान् भोजय युधिष्ठिर
bhīṣma uvāca yeṣāṃ dārāḥ pratīkṣante suvṛṣṭim iva karṣakāḥ | ucchiṣṭa-pariśeṣaṃ hi tān bhojaya yudhiṣṭhira ||
भीष्म उवाच—येषां दाराः सुवृष्टिमिव कर्षकाः प्रतीक्षन्ते, उच्छिष्टपरिशेषं हि; येषां गृहेऽद्यपाकात् परं न किञ्चिद् सञ्चितमस्ति, तान् दरिद्रान् ब्राह्मणान् त्वं भोजय, युधिष्ठिर।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma urges Yudhishthira to prioritize feeding the truly needy—especially poor Brahmins whose households survive day-to-day without stored grain—making charity concrete, targeted, and compassionate rather than merely ceremonial.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he gives Yudhishthira a vivid social image: wives waiting for leftovers like farmers waiting for rain, to identify households living on the edge; Yudhishthira is told to ensure such people are fed.