Shloka 141
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
देवपक्षचरा: सौम्या: प्राजापत्या महर्षय: । आप्नवन्ति तपश्चैव ब्रह्मचर्य परं तथा
devapakṣacarāḥ saumyāḥ prājāpatyā maharṣayaḥ | āpnavanti tapaś caiva brahmacarya-paraṃ tathā ||
Vasiṣṭha sprach: „Mögen diese großen Seher, geboren in der Linie der Prajāpatis, von sanftem Wesen sein, stets auf der Seite der Götter stehen und die Kraft erlangen, die aus Askese und aus der höchsten Verpflichtung zum Brahmacarya (disziplinierter, keuscher Lebensführung) erwächst.“
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises and enjoins a dharmic ideal for sages: gentleness (saumya-bhāva), alignment with divine order (standing with the devas), and inner power gained through tapas (austerity) and brahmacarya (disciplined restraint). Ethical authority is shown as arising from self-control rather than force.
Vasiṣṭha is speaking a benedictive or prescriptive statement about a group of great seers of Prajāpati lineage—describing how they should be in character and what spiritual strengths they should attain: devotion to the gods’ side, austerity, and exemplary brahmacarya.