Shloka 144

Devanagari script

तूष्णीमेव तु शूद्रस्य सनमस्कारकं स्मृतम् / अध्यापनं ब्रह्मयज्ञः पितृयज्ञस्तु तर्पणम्

Transliteration

tūṣṇīmeva tu śūdrasya sanamaskārakaṃ smṛtam / adhyāpanaṃ brahmayajñaḥ pitṛyajñastu tarpaṇam

Translation

For a Śūdra, silent reverence alone is remembered as the proper form of respectful salutation. Teaching sacred knowledge is the Brahma-yajña, and offering libations—tarpaṇa—is the Pitṛ-yajña.

Word by Word

• तूष्णीम्: silently
• तूष्णीम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तूष्णीम् (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb) ‘silently’

• एव: only/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेष/विरोधार्थक निपात

• शूद्रस्य: of a Śūdra
• शूद्रस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• स-नमस्कारकम्: together with salutation
• स-नमस्कारकम्: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (अव्यय) + नमस्कारक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावः (नमस्कारकेन सह)

• स्मृतम्: is prescribed/declared
• स्मृतम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि ‘is declared/remembered’

• अध्यापनम्: teaching
• अध्यापनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधि + आप्/आपॢ (धातु) + अन (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भाववाचक (teaching/causing to study)

• ब्रह्मयज्ञः: (is) the Brahma-yajña
• ब्रह्मयज्ञः: Kriya (Equative predicate/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मणः यज्ञः)

• पितृयज्ञः: the Pitṛ-yajña
• पितृयज्ञः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पितॄणां यज्ञः)

• तु: and/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विशेषार्थक निपात

• तर्पणम्: (is) tarpaṇa (satiatory offering)
• तर्पणम्: Kriya (Equative predicate/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृप् (धातु) + ल्युट्/अन (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; भाववाचक (act of satisfying/oblations)

Speaker

Lord Viṣṇu (in dialogue instruction to Garuḍa)

Shraddha Ritual

Beneficiary: Pitr

Timing: daily (as part of nitya pitṛ-yajña/tarpaṇa)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Varṇa-appropriate modes of reverence and the identification of Brahma-yajña (svādhyāya/adhyāpana) and Pitṛ-yajña (tarpaṇa).

Vedantic Theme: Dharma as harmonizing social role and spiritual purification; gratitude (ṛṇa) to ṛṣis and pitṛs as part of ethical-spiritual order.

Application: Maintain regular svādhyāya/teaching (as Brahma-yajña) and perform tarpaṇa (as Pitṛ-yajña) with sincerity; practice respectful humility appropriate to one’s station.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: household ritual space (study area and water-offering place)

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.213 (pañca-mahāyajña framing implied by Brahma-yajña and Pitṛ-yajña)

Characters & Entities

• Śūdra
• Pitṛs
• Brahma-yajña
• Pitṛ-yajña
• Tarpaṇa

FAQs

What is the importance of Pitṛ-yajña (tarpaṇa) in the Garuḍa Purāṇa?

This verse defines Pitṛ-yajña specifically as tarpaṇa—offerings that “satisfy” the ancestors—highlighting it as a core daily dharmic duty connected to honoring lineage and supporting ancestral welfare.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul after death?

Indirectly: by stressing Pitṛ-yajña through tarpaṇa, it points to the Garuḍa Purāṇa’s broader teaching that ancestral rites and offerings are spiritually consequential and support the departed and the ancestral realm (Pitṛ-loka).

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Maintain regular ancestral remembrance—at minimum through sincere water-offerings or prayers according to one’s tradition—and treat learning/teaching (where appropriate) and gratitude to forebears as living disciplines of dharma.