Shloka 20

Nāga–Nāgabhāryā Saṃvāda: Varṇa-Dharma, Gṛhastha-Discipline, and Mokṣa-Self-Inquiry

Mahābhārata 12.347

Devanagari script

त्रयो मूर्तिविहीना वै पिण्डमूर्तिधरास्त्विमे । भवन्तु पितरो लोके मया सृष्टा: सनातना:,तीन पितर मूर्तिहीन या अमूर्त होते हैं, जो पिण्डरूप मूर्ति धारण करके प्रकट हुए हैं, लोकमें मेरे द्वारा उत्पन्न किये गये ये सनातन पितर हों

Transliteration

trayo mūrtivihīnā vai piṇḍamūrtidharāstvime | bhavantu pitaro loke mayā sṛṣṭāḥ sanātanāḥ ||

Translation

Nārada sprach: „Diese drei sind zwar in Wahrheit ohne leibliche Gestalt, doch sind sie erschienen, indem sie die greifbare Form des piṇḍa (Totenopfers) annahmen. Mögen sie in der Welt als die ewigen Pitṛs gelten — Ahnen, die durch meinen eigenen Schöpfungsakt hervorgebracht wurden.“

Word by Word

त्रयःthree

मूर्तिविहीनाःdevoid of form

वैindeed

पिण्डमूर्तिधराःbearing a piṇḍa-form (embodied as an offering-body)

तुbut/and

इमेthese

भवन्तुlet (them) be

पितरःthe Fathers (Pitṛs)

लोकेin the world

मयाby me

सृष्टाःcreated

सनातनाःeternal/primeval

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Pitṛs (Pitaras)

Piṇḍa (funerary offering)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links the invisible ancestral realm to visible ethical practice: though the Pitṛs are formless, they become accessible through dharmic rites such as offering piṇḍa in śrāddha. It underscores continuity of obligation—care for ancestors as part of sustaining cosmic and social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is describing the origin/status of the Pitṛs, stating that three formless beings manifest through the piṇḍa-form and are to be recognized in the world as eternal ancestors created by him.