Shloka 12
Jñāna-yoga and Karma-phala: Manu–Bṛhaspati on Akṣara and the Limits of Mantra
अमृतं ब्राह्मणोच्छिष्टं जनन्या हृदयं कृतम् । तज्जना: पर्युपासन्ते सत्यं सन्त: समासते
amṛtaṃ brāhmaṇocchiṣṭaṃ jananyā hṛdayaṃ kṛtam | taj janāḥ paryupāsante satyaṃ santaḥ samāsate ||
भीष्म उवाच—अमृतं ब्राह्मणोच्छिष्टं जनन्या हृदयं कृतम्। तज्जनाः पर्युपासन्ते सत्यं सन्तः समासते॥ ब्राह्मणभुक्तशेषं अन्नं अमृतवत्; मातृहृदयवत् हितकरं कृतम्। ये तद् भक्त्या सेवन्ते, ते सत्पुरुषाः सत्ये समासते—सत्यस्वरूपं परं ब्रह्म प्राप्नुवन्ति।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverence toward the virtuous—symbolized by honoring and partaking of a Brahmin’s ucchiṣṭa—is presented as a dharmic act that purifies and leads one toward Satya (the Real/Truth).
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he praises a specific dharmic practice: treating the remnants of a Brahmin’s meal as sacred and beneficial, likening it to a mother’s nurturing care, and stating its spiritual fruit as abiding in Truth.