Shloka 15
कुण्डधारोपाख्यानम्
Kuṇḍadhāra-Upākhyāna: Dharma’s Superiority over Wealth and Desire
“सारांश यह कि उदारका ही अन्न भोजन करना चाहिये; कृपण, श्रोत्रिय एवं केवल सूदखोरका नहीं। जिसमें श्रद्धा नहीं है, एकमात्र वही देवताओंको हविष्य अर्पण करनेका अधिकार नहीं रखता है। उसीका अन्न नहीं खाना चाहिये। धर्मज्ञ पुरुष ऐसा ही मानते हैं ।।
sārāṁśaḥ—udārakasyaiva annaṁ bhojanaṁ kartavyam; kṛpaṇasya śrotriyasya kevala-sūdakhora-sya vā na. yasmin śraddhā nāsti sa eva devatābhyo haviṣyārpaṇe ’dhikāraṁ na labhate; tasya annaṁ na bhoktavyam—iti dharmajñāḥ puruṣā manyante. aśraddhā paramaṁ pāpaṁ śraddhā pāpa-pramocinī; jahāti pāpaṁ śraddhāvān sarpo jīrṇām iva tvacam.
毗湿摩说道：总而言之，只应受食于慷慨施与者，不应受食于吝啬之人——纵然他是通晓吠陀的śrotriya——也不应受食于唯以放债取利为生者。无śraddhā者并无真实资格向诸天献供（havis），故其食不当食。此乃知法（dharma）之士的裁断。因为无信是最大之罪，而śraddhā能解脱罪垢：如蛇蜕去陈旧之皮，有信之人亦能弃除罪业。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Food is ethically conditioned: one should accept and eat only what comes from generosity and sincere faith. Lack of śraddhā is treated as a grave moral fault, while śraddhā purifies—symbolized by the snake shedding its old skin.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he gives a rule of conduct about accepting food and links ritual entitlement (offering haviṣya) to inner faith, emphasizing moral integrity over mere learning or social status.