Shloka 81
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
अमावास्यां तु ये मर्त्या: प्रयच्छन्ति तिलोदकम्
amāvāsyāṃ tu ye martyāḥ prayacchanti tilodakam, tapodhana! yo manuṣya amāvāsyāke dina tāṃbeke pātrameṃ madhu evaṃ tilase miśrita jala lekara usake dvārā pitr̥roṃkā tarpaṇa karate haiṃ, unake dvārā rahasyasahita śrāddhakarma yathārtharūpase sampādita ho jātā hai
Śakra sprach: „O tapodhana, Asket reich an Askese! Jene Sterblichen, die am Tag der Amāvāsyā (Neumond) Wasser mit Sesam darbringen—es in einem Kupfergefäß nehmen, mit Honig und Sesam vermengen und damit den Pitṛs die tarpana darbringen—vollziehen dadurch das śrāddha-Ritual rechtmäßig, vollständig mit den gebotenen heiligen Observanzen.“
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches pitṛ-dharma: honoring one’s ancestors through properly timed and properly prepared offerings (tilodaka on amāvāsyā) is a valid and meritorious way to complete śrāddha according to prescribed observances.
Śakra (Indra) instructs an ascetic (addressed as tapodhana) about the efficacy of performing ancestral libations on the new-moon day, specifying sesame-water (with honey and sesame in a copper vessel) as a means by which the śrāddha rite is duly fulfilled.