Shloka 9
अग्निशाप-प्रसंगः
Agni’s Curse and the Restoration of Ritual Order
देवता: पितरस्तस्मात् पितरश्नापि देवता: । एकीभूताश्न पूज्यन्ते पृथक्त्वेन च पर्वसु,“अत: देवता पितर हैं और पितर ही देवता हैं। विभिन्न पर्वोपर ये दोनों एक रूपमें भी पूजे जाते हैं और पृथक्-पृथक् भी
devatāḥ pitaras tasmāt pitaro 'pi devatāḥ | ekībhūtāś ca pūjyante pṛthaktvena ca parvasu ||
Śaunaka sprach: „Darum sind die Götter (dem Wesen nach) die Väter, die Pitṛs, und auch die Pitṛs sind Götter. Bei den Observanzen und heiligen Anlässen (parvan) werden sie bald als eine einzige geeinte Wirklichkeit verehrt, bald als voneinander unterschieden—jeder in seiner eigenen Gestalt.“
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the essential continuity between divine worship (devatā) and ancestral reverence (pitṛ). In dharmic practice, honoring ancestors is not separate from honoring the divine; depending on the rite, they may be approached as a unified sacred reality or as distinct recipients of worship.
Śaunaka, in dialogue within the early frame narrative of the Mahābhārata, articulates a doctrinal point about ritual theology: during various parvans (sacred observances), gods and ancestors are worshipped either together as one or separately, explaining how different rites structure offerings and veneration.