Shloka 23

नक्षत्रेषु श्राद्धफलविधानम् (Śrāddha Outcomes According to Nakṣatras)

Devanagari script

चन्द्रमा: प्रददौ मेषमादित्यो रुचिरां प्रभाम्‌ गवां माता च गा देवी ददौ शतसहसत्रश:

Transliteration

candramāḥ pradadau meṣam ādityo rucirāṃ prabhām | gavāṃ mātā ca gā devī dadau śatasahasraśaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Der Mond schenkte einen Widder; die Sonne verlieh einen herrlichen Glanz; und die göttliche Kuh — Mutter der Rinder — gab Kühe zu Hunderttausenden.“

Word by Word

• चन्द्रमाः: the Moon
• चन्द्रमाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्रमस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रददौ: gave
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-दा
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Dative, Singular

• मेषम्: a ram
• मेषम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आदित्यः: the Sun
• आदित्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदित्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• रुचिराम्: beautiful
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुचिर
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रभाम्: radiance, light
• प्रभाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• गवाम्: of cows
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• माता: mother
• माता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• गा: a cow
• गा: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• देवी: the goddess
• देवी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• ददौ: gave
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• शतसहस्रशः: by hundreds and thousands; in hundreds of thousands
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतसहस्रशस्

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Candramā (Moon)
• Āditya (Sun)
• Meṣa (ram)
• Prabhā (radiance)
• Gā Devī (divine Cow)
• Gāvaḥ (cows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the dharmic ideal that righteous giving and divine favor are intertwined: celestial powers and sacred beings are portrayed as bestowing auspicious gifts, underscoring the ethical prestige of generosity and the sanctity of cattle as a source of welfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma enumerates extraordinary gifts received from divine sources—the Moon, the Sun, and the divine Cow—listing a ram, radiant brilliance, and immense numbers of cows, as part of a broader discourse on gifts, merit, and dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva.