Shloka 306
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
किमर्थ पितरस्तस्य कव्यमेव च भुड्जते । इसी प्रकार यदि गुरुजनोंकी आज्ञाके अनुसार मध्यम पिण्ड पत्नी ही खाती है तो उसके पितर किस प्रकार उस पिण्डका उपभोग करते हैं?
kimarthaṁ pitaras tasya kavyam eva ca bhuñjate |
قال الرسول الإلهي: «لِمَ يقتصر أسلافُه (Pitṛs) على تناول القُربان الجنائزي (kavya) وحده؟ وكذلك، إذا كان—امتثالًا لأمر الشيوخ—تأكل الزوجةُ بنفسها الـ(بيṇḍا piṇḍa) الأوسط، فبأيّ وجهٍ ينال أجدادُه لذّةَ ذلك الـ(بيṇḍا)؟»
देवदूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse raises a dharma-question about how Śrāddha offerings reach the Pitṛs when ritual roles or consumption rules vary—highlighting that ancestral benefit depends on correct intention, authorized procedure, and the dharmic framework governing offerings (kavya/piṇḍa).
A divine messenger questions the mechanics and rationale of ancestral enjoyment of Śrāddha offerings: why the Pitṛs partake of kavya, and how they receive the ‘middle piṇḍa’ if, by elders’ instruction, the wife consumes it—setting up an explanation of ritual transmission and dharmic authorization.