Shloka 5
अविश्वास-निति: ब्रह्मदत्त–पूजनी-संवादः
Policy of Caution: The Brahmadatta–Pūjanī Dialogue
यो वै न देवान् न पितृन् न मर्त्यान हविषार्चति । अनर्थकं धन तत्र प्राहुर्धमविदो जना:
bhīṣma uvāca | yo vai na devān na pitṝn na martyān haviṣārcati | anarthakaṃ dhanaṃ tatra prāhur dharmavido janāḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：凡不以祭献供物礼敬诸天、不敬祖灵、亦不敬众人者——其财富便被通晓法者判为无果无用。因为财富唯有用于如法布施、维系神圣与社会之秩序时才有意义；否则便如劳作投向不能滋养之物，终归荒芜。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth is meaningful only when aligned with dharma—used to honor the gods, support ancestral rites, and serve living beings. If one hoards wealth without worship, giving, or social responsibility, dharma-knowers deem that wealth 'anarthaka' (without true purpose or fruit).
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs the king on righteous conduct and governance. Here he states a moral criterion for judging wealth: it is validated by sacrificial and social use (offerings to gods, rites for ancestors, and support of people), not merely by possession.