Shloka 15
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
देवेभ्यश्न पितृभ्यश्न संश्रितेभ्यस्तथैव च | अवशिष्टनि यो भुंक्ते तमाहुर्विघसाशिनम्
devebhyaś ca pitṛbhyaś ca saṁśritebhyaś tathaiva ca | avaśiṣṭaṁ yo bhuṅkte tam āhur vighasāśinam ||
بھیشم نے کہا—جو پہلے دیوتاؤں کو، پِتروں کو، اور اسی طرح اپنے زیرِکفالت لوگوں کو کھانا پیش کرتا ہے، پھر جو بچ رہے اسے کھاتا ہے—ایسے شخص کو ‘وِگھساشی’ کہا جاتا ہے، یعنی وہ جو حق داروں کو دے کر باقی پر گزارا کرتا ہے۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should not consume food as a private entitlement. Dharma requires first honoring higher obligations—offerings to devas and pitṛs—and social obligations—feeding dependents/those under one’s protection—before eating what remains. Such disciplined, sharing-based consumption is praised as vighasāśin.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he defines a virtuous mode of household living: the proper order of giving and eating. The verse characterizes the person who eats only after offerings and distribution as ‘vighasāśin’.