Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 27
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
सावित्रीं जपते यस्तु त्रिकालं भरतर्षभ । भिक्षावृत्ति: कियावांश्व स राजन् केतनक्षम:
sāvitrīṃ japate yas tu trikālaṃ bharatarṣabha | bhikṣāvṛttiḥ kiyāvāṃś ca sa rājan ketanakṣamaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“婆罗多族中的雄牛啊，那人若于三时交会之际诵念萨维特丽（伽雅特丽，Gāyatrī），以乞食自活，并坚守所规定的行持——此人，大王啊，适合受邀参加施罗陀（śrāddha）。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Eligibility for receiving honor in ancestral rites (śrāddha) is grounded in disciplined daily spiritual practice (trikāla-japa of Sāvitrī), austere livelihood (bhikṣā-vṛtti), and steadfast performance of prescribed duties (kriyā). The verse links ritual worthiness to sustained ethical-religious conduct rather than status alone.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and proper ritual standards. Here he specifies the kind of person who should be invited to a śrāddha: a disciplined practitioner of the Sāvitrī/Gāyatrī, living simply on alms and devoted to correct observances.