Shloka 42
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
अन्यद् दानं तु विप्रर्षे श्रूयतां पावनं महत् । दिव्यमत्यद्भुताकारमपत्यं जातवेदस:
anyad dānaṃ tu viprarṣe śrūyatāṃ pāvanaṃ mahat | divyamatyadbhutākāram apatyaṃ jātavedasaḥ ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi bậc hiền triết tối thượng trong hàng Bà-la-môn, hãy nghe thêm một loại bố thí khác—vĩ đại và thanh tịnh. Đó là điều liên quan đến một hậu duệ kỳ diệu, mang tính thần linh, sinh ra từ Jātavedas (Agni).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma introduces a further, highly purifying form of dāna (giving), framing it as spiritually weighty and connected with a divine, extraordinary narrative involving Agni (Jātavedas). The emphasis is that certain gifts and acts of giving are not merely social virtues but powerful means of inner purification and dharmic merit.
In the didactic flow of Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues instructing his listener (addressed as a viprarṣi) about exemplary forms of charity. Here he signals a transition: he will recount an account concerning a marvelous, divine offspring associated with Agni, using that story to illuminate the greatness of a particular kind of dāna.