Shloka 15
श्रीशक्रसंवादः — The Dialogue of Śrī
Lakṣmī) and Śakra (Indra
देवताभ्य: पितृभ्यश्च भृत्येभ्योडतिथिभि: सह । अवशिष्टं तु यो5श्चाति तमाहुर्विघसाशिनम्
devatābhyaḥ pitṛbhyaś ca bhṛtyebhyo ’tithibhiḥ saha | avaśiṣṭaṃ tu yo ’śnāti tam āhur vighasāśinam ||
देवताभ्यः पितृभ्यश्च भृत्येभ्योऽतिथिभिः सह । अवशिष्टं तु योऽश्नाति तमाहुर्विघसाशिनम् ॥
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should not eat first. Proper conduct is to honor the gods and ancestors through offerings, then fulfill social duties by feeding guests and dependents; only the remaining food is fit for one’s own consumption. Such a person is termed vighasāśin, embodying restraint and dharmic priority.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma in the Shanti Parva, he defines a virtuous household practice: serving divine and ancestral obligations and extending hospitality and care to dependents before eating oneself, and he names the practitioner of this discipline.