Shloka 15
Śuka’s Nirveda: Vyāsa’s Admonition on Dharma, Impermanence, and ‘Imperishable Wealth’ (अक्षय-धन)
सत्कृता चैकपत्नी च जात्या योनिरिहेष्यते । ऋग्यजु:सामगो विद्वान् षट्कर्मा पात्रमुच्यते
satkṛtā caikapatnī ca jātyā yoniriheṣyate | ṛgyajuḥsāmago vidvān ṣaṭkarmā pātram ucyate ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: Ang babaeng iginagalang (ng kanyang asawa), tapat sa iisang asawa lamang, at isinilang sa marangal na angkan ay itinuturing dito na “dakilang sinapupunan”; kaya ang isinilang sa gayong ina ay itinuturing na dalisay sa kapanganakan. At ang Brāhmaṇa na bihasa sa Ṛg-, Yajur-, at Sāma-veda at palagiang tumutupad sa anim na tungkulin (pagsasagawa at pamumuno sa yajña, pag-aaral at pagtuturo, pagbibigay at pagtanggap ng dana) ay sinasabing dalisay sa gawa at karapat-dapat tumanggap ng kaloob.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma distinguishes two bases of worthiness: purity by birth (being born from a respected, faithful, well-born mother) and purity by conduct (a Brāhmaṇa’s Vedic learning and steady performance of the six prescribed duties), concluding that such a person is a ‘pātra’—a fit recipient of gifts and social trust.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by describing markers of social and ritual eligibility: the mother’s recognized virtue and lineage, and the Brāhmaṇa’s Vedic competence together with disciplined performance of traditional obligations.