Shloka 8
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
विघसाशी कथं च स्याद् सदा चैवातिथिप्रिय: । अमृताशी सदा च स्यात् पवित्री च सदा भवेत्
vighasāśī kathaṃ ca syād sadā caivātithipriyaḥ | amṛtāśī sadā ca syāt pavitrī ca sadā bhavet ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “Paano magiging vighasāśin ang isang tao—yaong kumakain lamang ng natira matapos mapakain ang iba—at laging masigasig sa paggalang sa panauhin? Paano mamumuhay na wari’y kumakain ng amṛta, at maging palagiang nakapagdudalisay sa asal?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse points to dharma expressed through hospitality and self-restraint: one should prioritize feeding others (especially guests) before oneself, thereby cultivating purity and a life that feels ‘nectar-like’ through righteous conduct.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he frames an inquiry about the disciplines and attitudes by which a person becomes devoted to guests, eats only after serving others, and attains a consistently purifying way of life.