Shloka 85
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
पवित्र च पवित्राणां मड्गलानां च मंगलम् । यत् सुवर्ण स भगवानग्निरीश: प्रजापति:,वह पवित्रोंमें भी अधिक पवित्र तथा मंगलोंमें भी अधिक मंगलमय है। जो सुवर्ण है, वही भगवान् अनिनि हैं, वही ईश्वर और प्रजापति हैं इति श्रीमहाभारते अनुशासनपर्वणि दानधर्मपर्वणि सुवर्णोत्पत्तिर्नाम पज्चाशीतितमो<ध्याय:
pavitraṃ ca pavitrāṇāṃ maṅgalānāṃ ca maṅgalam | yat suvarṇaṃ sa bhagavān agnir īśaḥ prajāpatiḥ ||
पवित्रं च पवित्राणां मङ्गलानां च मङ्गलम् । यत् सुवर्णं स भगवानग्निरीशः प्रजापतिः ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that gold is supremely pure and auspicious because it is identified with divine principles—Agni, Īśa, and Prajāpati. This sacral identification supports the ethical ideal that wealth, when treated as sacred and used in dāna (charitable giving), becomes a vehicle of purification and auspicious merit rather than mere possession.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s dāna-dharma instruction, Bhishma is explaining the sanctity and origin/status of gold (suvarṇa). He frames gold as intrinsically holy by equating it with major Vedic divinities, thereby encouraging its respectful use—especially in ritual and gifting—as part of righteous conduct.