Shloka 9
Śrāddha-pravṛtti-kathana and Varjya-dravya-nirdeśa
Origin and Prohibitions in Śrāddha
एष्टव्या बहव: पुत्रा यद्येको5पि गयां व्रजेत् । यत्रासौ प्रथितो लोकेष्वक्षय्यकरणो वट:
eṣṭavyā bahavaḥ putrā yady eko 'pi gayāṃ vrajet | yatrāsau prathito lokeṣv akṣayyīkaraṇo vaṭaḥ ||
ভীষ্মে ক’লে—বহু পুত্ৰৰ কামনা কৰা উচিত; কিয়নো তেওঁলোকৰ মাজৰ এজনেও যদি গয়া-তীৰ্থলৈ যায়—য’ত লোকপ্ৰসিদ্ধ অক্ষয়বট আছে, যিয়ে শ্ৰাদ্ধৰ ফল অক্ষয় কৰে—তেন্তে পিতৃসকলৰ স্থায়ী কল্যাণ সাধিত হয়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the dharmic value of progeny in the context of pitṛdharma: even a single son who undertakes pilgrimage to Gayā and performs rites connected with Akṣayavaṭa can secure enduring, ‘imperishable’ benefit from śrāddha for the ancestors. Progeny is thus framed as a means of sustaining ancestral obligations and long-term merit.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including duties toward ancestors. Here he highlights the famed Gayā-tīrtha and its Akṣayavaṭa, emphasizing that pilgrimage and śrāddha performed there are believed to yield inexhaustible results, and therefore having sons is praised because they can carry out such rites.