Shloka 35

Adhyaya 31 — Naimittika and Related Śrāddha Rites: Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, Eligibility, Timing, and Procedure

Sanskrit

भोजयेत् प्रणिपाताद्यैः प्रासाद्य यतमांससः ।

यथैव शुक्लपक्षाद्वै पितॄणामसितः प्रियः ॥

Transliteration

bhojayet praṇipātādyaiḥ prāsādya yatamānasaḥ | yathaiva śuklapakṣādvai pitṝṇāmasitaḥ priyaḥ ||

Translation

وعليه أن يطعمهم بعد أن يُرضيهم بالتحيات والسجود ونحو ذلك، بعقلٍ منضبط. وكما أنّ النصفَ المضيءَ من الشهر، يكون النصفُ المظلمُ فيه محبوبًا لدى الأسلاف (الپِتْرِ).

Word by Word

• bhojayet: should feed
• bhojayet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (भुज् धातु, ‘to eat/enjoy’) + ṇic (णिच् causative)
• Form: Causative (णिजन्त), Optative/vidhiliṅ (विधिलिङ्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद) — ‘should cause to eat/feed’

• praṇipāta-ādyaiḥ: with prostration and the like
• praṇipāta-ādyaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: praṇipāta (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘praṇipāta etc.’; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• prāsādya: having pleased
• prāsādya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-sad (सद् धातु) + ṇic? + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा/ल्यप्), avyaya usage — ‘having pleased/propitiated’

• yata-mānasaḥ: with restrained mind
• yata-mānasaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yata (यत्/यम् धातु + क्त) + mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) ‘mind-restrained’; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) — qualifying implied agent (he)

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Comparative particle (उपमान/प्रकारवाचक अव्यय)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक निपात)

• śukla-pakṣāt: than the bright fortnight
• śukla-pakṣāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) ‘bright fortnight’; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) — emphasis/tradition

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• asitaḥ: the dark (fortnight)
• asitaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: asita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) — ‘dark (fortnight)’

• priyaḥ: dear/pleasing
• priyaḥ: Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa (विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) — predicate adjective

Speakers

• Didactic narrator within the Purāṇic discourse (Śrāddha injunctions; frame-speaker not explicit in the given excerpt)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "bhakti", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Pitṛ Pūjā
• Śrāddha timing
• Atithi-satkāra (guest honor)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ritual giving is inseparable from humility: honoring guests through respectful reception is itself part of the offering to the pitṛs.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/dharma instruction, with calendrical preference linked to pitṛ rites.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘dark fortnight’ preference points to inwardness and withdrawal: pitṛ rites align with a subtle, ancestral current associated with diminution (kṛṣṇa pakṣa) rather than expansion.