Shloka 15
Śuka’s Nirveda: Vyāsa’s Admonition on Dharma, Impermanence, and ‘Imperishable Wealth’ (अक्षय-धन)
सत्कृता चैकपत्नी च जात्या योनिरिहेष्यते । ऋग्यजु:सामगो विद्वान् षट्कर्मा पात्रमुच्यते
satkṛtā caikapatnī ca jātyā yoniriheṣyate | ṛgyajuḥsāmago vidvān ṣaṭkarmā pātram ucyate ||
毗湿摩言：女子若出自良族，为夫所敬，且专一于一夫，此处称为“上等胎藏”；故由此母所生者，谓之生来清净。又，婆罗门若通晓《梨俱》《夜柔》《娑摩》三吠陀，并恒常奉行六业（自祭与使人祭、学习与教授、施与受），则称其以行而净，为受施之合格福田。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma distinguishes two bases of worthiness: purity by birth (being born from a respected, faithful, well-born mother) and purity by conduct (a Brāhmaṇa’s Vedic learning and steady performance of the six prescribed duties), concluding that such a person is a ‘pātra’—a fit recipient of gifts and social trust.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by describing markers of social and ritual eligibility: the mother’s recognized virtue and lineage, and the Brāhmaṇa’s Vedic competence together with disciplined performance of traditional obligations.