Shloka 126
ज्येष्ठ-कनिष्ठ-धर्मः — Duties of Elders and Juniors
Anuśāsana-parva 108
नक्षत्रे न च कुर्वीत यस्मिन् जातो भवेन्नर: । न प्रोष्ठपदयो: कार्य तथाग्नेये च भारत
nakṣatre na ca kurvīta yasmin jāto bhaven naraḥ | na proṣṭhapadayoḥ kārya tathāgneye ca bhārata bhārata |
Bhīṣma sprach: „Ein Mensch soll den Ritus nicht in jener Mondstation vollziehen, in der er selbst geboren wurde. Auch soll er nicht in den beiden Proṣṭhapadā (Bhādrapadā) vollzogen werden, ebenso wenig in der Agneya-Konstellation (Kṛttikā), o Bhārata. Diese Lehre macht die rituelle Zeitwahl zu einem Teil des Dharma: selbst verdienstvolle Handlungen wie Ahnenopfer sind unter Beachtung der vorgeschriebenen günstigen und ungünstigen Sterne zu verrichten.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual merit depends not only on intention but also on correct observance; certain nakṣatras—one’s own birth-star, the two Proṣṭhapadās, and Kṛttikā—are prescribed as unsuitable times for performing such rites (especially ancestral offerings).
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, giving specific calendrical rules about when particular religious rites should or should not be performed.