Shloka 24
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
भ्राद्धं दत्त्वा च भुक्त्वा च पुरुषो यः स्त्रियं ब्रजेत् । पितरस्तस्य तं॑ मासं तस्मिन् रेतसि शेरते
śrāddhaṃ dattvā ca bhuktvā ca puruṣo yaḥ striyaṃ brajet | pitaras tasya taṃ māsaṃ tasmin retasi śerate ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Wenn ein Mann, nachdem er das śrāddha dargebracht und danach gegessen hat, zu einer Frau geht (zur geschlechtlichen Vereinigung), so heißt es, dass seine Ahnen den ganzen Monat hindurch in eben diesem Samen ruhen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
After performing and partaking in śrāddha, one should observe restraint and avoid sexual intercourse; the rite demands separation from sensual acts to preserve ritual purity and proper reverence toward the ancestors.
Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, states a prescriptive rule about conduct surrounding śrāddha, using a vivid consequence—ancestors ‘resting’ in the man’s semen for a month—to discourage intercourse immediately after the rite.