Shloka 18
अलोभोपाख्यानम् — शुनःसख-यातुधानी-संवादः
The Allegory of Non-Greed: Śunaḥsakha and the Yātudhānī
कल्माषगोयुगेनाथ युक्तेन तरतो जलम् । पितरो5भिलपषणन्ते वै नावं चाप्यधिरोहिता:
kalmāṣa-goyugenātha yuktena tarato jalam | pitaro 'bhilapaṣaṇante vai nāvaṃ cāpy adhirohitāḥ ||
Bhīṣma sagte: „Wenn einer das Wasser überquert, indem er ein richtig angepasstes Joch an einem gescheckten Ochsen nutzt, rufen die Pitṛs (Ahnengeister) zustimmend—ja, als hätten sie selbst das Boot bestiegen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That dharmic intention supported by proper, orderly means can generate merit connected with the Pitṛs; even an ordinary act like safely crossing water, when done rightly, is portrayed as pleasing the ancestors.
Bhishma describes a vivid image: a person crosses water using a properly yoked ox-yoke arrangement, and the Pitṛs are said to call out as if they have boarded the boat too—signaling approval and the ancestral dimension of righteous action.