Shloka 11
Nāga–Nāgabhāryā Saṃvāda: Varṇa-Dharma, Gṛhastha-Discipline, and Mokṣa-Self-Inquiry
Mahābhārata 12.347
त्रीन् पिण्डान् न्यस्य वै पृथ्व्यां पूर्व दत्त्वा कुशानिति । कथं तु पिण्डसंज्ञां ते पितरो लेभिरे पुरा,देवताओंने पृथ्वीपर पहले कुश बिछाकर उनपर पितरोंके निमित्त तीन पिण्ड रखकर जो उनका पूजन किया था, इसका क्या कारण है? पूर्वकालमें पितरोंने पिण्डनाम कैसे प्राप्त किया?
trīn piṇḍān nyasya vai pṛthivyāṃ pūrvaṃ dattvā kuśān iti | kathaṃ tu piṇḍasaṃjñāṃ te pitaro lebhire purā ||
Nārada sprach: „Nachdem man zuerst Kuśa-Gras auf der Erde ausgebreitet und dann drei Piṇḍa-Gaben für die Väter (Pitṛs) darauf niedergelegt hat, vollzieht man ihre Verehrung. Was ist der Grund für diese Praxis? Und wie kamen die Pitṛs in alter Zeit zu der Bezeichnung ‘Piṇḍa’?“
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry into the rationale behind Śrāddha procedure—why kuśa is laid down and why three piṇḍa offerings are placed for the ancestors—emphasizing that ritual acts should be grounded in understood tradition (vidhi) and remembered origins, not performed mechanically.
Nārada asks for an explanation of an established ancestral rite: first placing kuśa grass on the ground, then setting three piṇḍas for the Pitṛs and worshipping them. He specifically seeks the ancient origin of the Pitṛs being associated with the term ‘piṇḍa’ and the reason the rite uses three offerings.