Shloka 86
पात्रलक्षण-परिक्षा (Pātra-Lakṣaṇa Parīkṣā) — Criteria for a Worthy Recipient
तथैव देवता राजन् नात्र कार्या विचारणा | राजन! यदि ब्राह्मण संतुष्ट हो जायँ तो पितर तथा देवता भी सदा प्रसन्न रहते हैं। इसमें कोई अन्यथा विचार नहीं करना चाहिये
tathaiva devatā rājan nātra kāryā vicāraṇā | rājan yadi brāhmaṇāḥ santuṣṭā bhavanti tarhi pitaraś ca devatāś ca sadā prasannā bhavanti | asmin na kiñcid anyathā vicārayitum arhasi ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Gayon nga, O Hari—hindi na kailangan ang pag-aalinlangan o iba pang pagninilay. Kapag nasiyahan ang mga brāhmaṇa, ang mga ninuno (pitṛ) at ang mga diyos ay laging nalulugod din. Sa bagay na ito, huwag kang mag-isip ng salungat.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that honoring and satisfying brāhmaṇas—through proper respect, gifts, and righteous conduct—has a wider spiritual effect: it brings the lasting favor of both the ancestors (pitṛs) and the gods (devatās).
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he emphasizes, with certainty, that the king need not doubt this principle: the contentment of brāhmaṇas is a reliable means to secure divine and ancestral satisfaction.