Shloka 19

तीर्थवंशोपदेशः

Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters

Devanagari script

अनग्नयश्न ये विप्रा मृतनिर्यातकाश्न ये । स्तेनाश्न पतिताश्चैव राजन नाहन्ति केतनम्‌

Transliteration

anagnayaśn ye viprā mṛtaniryātakāśn ye | stenāśn patitāś caiva rājan nāhanti ketanam ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “O king, Brahmins who do not maintain the sacred fires (and thus neglect the Agnihotra), those who live by carrying out the dead, those who subsist on theft, and those who have fallen from right conduct due to sin—such men are not fit to be invited for the śrāddha rites.”

Word by Word

• अनग्नयश्नाः: those who eat without maintaining the sacred fires (non-performers of agnihotra)
• अनग्नयश्नाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनग्नयश्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ये: who
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• विप्राः: brahmins
• विप्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मृतनिर्यातकाः: corpse-carriers / those who remove (carry out) the dead
• मृतनिर्यातकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृतनिर्यातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अश्नन्ति: eat
• अश्नन्ति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अश् (धातु)
• Form: Present, 3rd, Plural

• ये: who
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• स्तेनाः: thieves
• स्तेनाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तेन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अश्नन्ति: eat
• अश्नन्ति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अश् (धातु)
• Form: Present, 3rd, Plural

• पतिताः: fallen (from caste/duty), degraded
• पतिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पतित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √पत्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• आहन्ति: do not strike / do not harm
• Type: Verb
• Root: √हन् (धातु)
• Form: Present, 3rd, Plural

• केतनम्: house, dwelling, abode
• केतनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: केतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• the King (Yudhishthira, implied addressee)
• viprāḥ (Brahmins)
• Agnihotra (sacred fire rite, implied by anagnayaśn)
• śrāddha (ancestral rite, implied by context/ketanam)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that eligibility for participation in śrāddha is grounded in ethical livelihood and adherence to prescribed duties: neglect of sacred obligations, impure occupations connected with handling corpses, theft-based living, and moral downfall disqualify one from being invited.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma instructs the king on dharma and proper ritual practice. Here he specifies categories of persons—despite being called ‘viprāḥ’—who should not be invited to śrāddha, emphasizing standards of conduct and purity for ancestral rites.