Shloka 35

Adhyaya 31 — Naimittika and Related Śrāddha Rites: Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, Eligibility, Timing, and Procedure

Sanskrit

भोजयेत् प्रणिपाताद्यैः प्रासाद्य यतमांससः ।

यथैव शुक्लपक्षाद्वै पितॄणामसितः प्रियः ॥

Transliteration

bhojayet praṇipātādyaiḥ prāsādya yatamānasaḥ | yathaiva śuklapakṣādvai pitṝṇāmasitaḥ priyaḥ ||

Translation

Mit gezügeltem Geist soll er sie speisen, nachdem er sie durch Grußbezeugungen und dergleichen erfreut hat. So ist, innerhalb der hellen Monatshälfte, die dunkle Hälfte den Ahnen (pitṛ) lieb.

Word by Word

• bhojayet: should feed
• bhojayet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhuj (भुज् धातु, ‘to eat/enjoy’) + ṇic (णिच् causative)
• Form: Causative (णिजन्त), Optative/vidhiliṅ (विधिलिङ्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद) — ‘should cause to eat/feed’

• praṇipāta-ādyaiḥ: with prostration and the like
• praṇipāta-ādyaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: praṇipāta (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa (तत्पुरुष) ‘praṇipāta etc.’; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन)

• prāsādya: having pleased
• prāsādya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-sad (सद् धातु) + ṇic? + lyap (ल्यप्)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा/ल्यप्), avyaya usage — ‘having pleased/propitiated’

• yata-mānasaḥ: with restrained mind
• yata-mānasaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yata (यत्/यम् धातु + क्त) + mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) ‘mind-restrained’; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) — qualifying implied agent (he)

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Comparative particle (उपमान/प्रकारवाचक अव्यय)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Emphatic particle (निश्चयार्थक निपात)

• śukla-pakṣāt: than the bright fortnight
• śukla-pakṣāt: Apādāna (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Karmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) ‘bright fortnight’; Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात) — emphasis/tradition

• pitṝṇām: of the ancestors
• pitṝṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन)

• asitaḥ: the dark (fortnight)
• asitaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: asita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) — ‘dark (fortnight)’

• priyaḥ: dear/pleasing
• priyaḥ: Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa (विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन) — predicate adjective

Speakers

• Didactic narrator within the Purāṇic discourse (Śrāddha injunctions; frame-speaker not explicit in the given excerpt)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "bhakti", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Pitṛ Pūjā
• Śrāddha timing
• Atithi-satkāra (guest honor)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ritual giving is inseparable from humility: honoring guests through respectful reception is itself part of the offering to the pitṛs.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ācāra/dharma instruction, with calendrical preference linked to pitṛ rites.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘dark fortnight’ preference points to inwardness and withdrawal: pitṛ rites align with a subtle, ancestral current associated with diminution (kṛṣṇa pakṣa) rather than expansion.