Shloka 11
अग्निशाप-प्रसंगः
Agni’s Curse and the Restoration of Ritual Order
अमावास्यां हि पितर: पौर्णमास्यां हि देवता: । मन्मुखेनैव हूयन्ते भुड्जते च हुतं हवि:
amāvāsyāṁ hi pitaraḥ paurṇamāsyāṁ hi devatāḥ | manmukhenaiva hūyante bhuñjate ca hutaṁ haviḥ ||
Śaunaka said: “On the new-moon day the Pitṛs are to be honored, and on the full-moon day the Devas. When offerings are made through my mouth—i.e., through the proper sacred channel—they accept the oblation and partake of the havis duly offered.”
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual acts should be performed at their proper times and through the proper sacred procedure: Amāvāsyā is especially linked with honoring ancestors (Pitṛs), and Paurṇamāsī with honoring the gods (Devas). Correct mediation—authorized recitation and offering—ensures the intended recipients accept the oblation.
Śaunaka, speaking in the Naimiṣa forest setting of the early Adi Parva dialogues, states a rule of sacrificial timing and efficacy: offerings made on new-moon and full-moon days reach the Pitṛs and Devas respectively, and when offered through the proper officiant/reciter, they are accepted and enjoyed.