Shloka 12
Śrāddha-utpatti and Nivāpa–Agni Precedence (श्राद्धोत्पत्तिः—निवापेऽग्निपूर्वकत्वम्)
राज्यभागी धनिष्ठायां भवेत नियतं नरः । नक्षत्रे वारुणे कुर्वन् भिषक्सिद्धिमवाप्रुयात्
rājyabhāgī dhaniṣṭhāyāṃ bhavet niyataṃ naraḥ | nakṣatre vāruṇe kurvan bhiṣaksiddhim avāpnuyāt ||
دھنِشٹھا کے نکشتر میں باقاعدہ پابندی کے ساتھ شرادھ کرنے والا انسان یقیناً راج بھاگ، یعنی حکومت و نظم میں حصہ پاتا ہے۔ اور وارُڻ نکشتر—شَتَبھِشا—میں شرادھ کرنے والا مرد طبابت میں کمال و کامیابی حاصل کرتا ہے۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that performing śrāddha with disciplined observance at specific nakṣatras is believed to yield corresponding fruits: Dhaniṣṭhā is associated with attaining a share in royal authority, while the Varuṇa-star (Śatabhiṣā) is associated with success in the medical/healing vocation. It frames ritual timing and self-regulation as means to cultivate socially constructive capacities—governance and healing.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including the rules and fruits of ancestral rites (śrāddha). Here he specifies the outcomes attributed to performing śrāddha under particular lunar mansions, presenting a traditional mapping between ritual context (nakṣatra) and promised results.