Shloka 16
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
राजन! जो गाते-बजाते, नाचते, खेल-कूदकर तमाशा दिखाते, व्यर्थकी बातें बनाते और पहलवानी करते हैं, वे भी निमन्त्रण पानेके अधिकारी नहीं हैं ।।
rājan! hotāro vṛṣalānāṃ ca vṛṣalādhyāpakās tathā | tathā vṛṣalaśiṣyāś ca rājan nārhanti ketanam ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “O Hari, yaong umaawit at tumutugtog, sumasayaw, nagpapalabas ng aliw sa laro at pagtatanghal, gumagawa ng salitang walang kabuluhan, at nakikipagbuno—hindi rin karapat-dapat anyayahan. At muli, O panginoon ng mga tao, yaong nagsisilbing pari sa mga Śūdra, yaong nagtuturo sa kanila, at yaong nagiging alagad nila upang matuto mula sa kanila o maglingkod sa kanila—hindi rin nararapat anyayahan sa śrāddha.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lays down a rule of ritual eligibility: for formal invitations connected with rites (especially śrāddha-type hospitality), one should avoid inviting persons whose ritual roles and educational ties are considered improper within the text’s dharma framework—specifically, those who officiate for, teach, or study under those labeled vṛṣala.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he is enumerating categories of people regarded as unfit to be invited to certain ceremonial meals/rites, continuing a broader discussion on rules of hospitality and ritual purity.