Shloka 13
ऋत्विग्धर्मः, दक्षिणा-न्यायः, तपसः परमार्थः
Ritvij-Dharma, the Norm of Dakṣiṇā, and the Higher Meaning of Tapas
यज्ञाज़ूं दक्षिणा तात वेदानां परिबृंहणम् । न यज्ञा दक्षिणाहीनास्तारयन्ति कथंचन
yajñāzuṃ dakṣiṇā tāta vedānāṃ paribṛṃhaṇam | na yajñā dakṣiṇāhīnāstārāyanti kathaṃcana, somo rājā brāhmaṇānāmityeṣā vaidikī sthitiḥ | taṃ ca vikretumicchanti na vṛthā vṛttiriṣyate |
毗湿摩说：“亲爱的啊，祭资（dakṣiṇā）确是扶持并充实吠陀之物。无祭资之祭（yajña），无论如何都不能使人渡向功德彼岸。吠陀的定则如此：苏摩（Soma）乃婆罗门之王。然而他们竟也想将他卖掉。即便如此，徒然求生并不被认可——若无不可回避的祭祀需要，仅为充腹而售苏摩，并不算正当。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dakṣiṇā is integral to yajña and to sustaining Vedic learning; sacred things like Soma should not be commodified for mere subsistence. Only compelling ritual necessity can justify such handling—otherwise it becomes improper livelihood.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he comments on ritual propriety and Brahmin conduct: he affirms the Vedic status of Soma as ‘king of the Brahmins’ while criticizing the impulse to sell Soma merely for income, especially when no obligatory sacrificial context requires it.