Shloka 25
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
प्रविभागं तु पिण्डानां प्रवक्ष्याम्यनुपूर्वश: । पिण्डो हाथस्ताद् गच्छंस्तु अप आविश्य भावयेत्
pravibhāgaṃ tu piṇḍānāṃ pravakṣyāmy anupūrvaśaḥ | piṇḍo hāstas tād gacchaṃs tu ap āviśya bhāvayet ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Nun will ich der rechten Ordnung gemäß die angemessene Verteilung der rituellen Reisbälle (piṇḍas) darlegen. Im śrāddha-Ritus, wo drei piṇḍas vorgeschrieben sind, soll der erste dem Wasser übergeben werden; der mittlere darf nur von der Gattin des Vollziehenden gegessen werden; und der dritte ist dem Feuer darzubringen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches procedural dharma in śrāddha: offerings are not arbitrary but must be allocated in a prescribed order—one piṇḍa to water, one reserved for the wife’s consumption as part of the rite, and one offered into fire—emphasizing disciplined ritual conduct and respect for ancestral obligations.
Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, turns to the detailed rules of śrāddha and begins specifying how the three ritual piṇḍas are to be disposed of or used within the ceremony.