Shloka 20
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
कस्माद्धि मैथुन श्राद्धे दातुर्भोक्तुश्च वर्जितम् । किमर्थ च त्रय: पिण्डा: प्रविभक्ता: पृथक् पृथक्
bhīṣma uvāca |
kasmāddhi maithunaśrāddhe dāturbhoktuśca varjitam |
kimarthaṃ ca trayaḥ piṇḍāḥ pravibhaktāḥ pṛthak pṛthak |
Bhīṣma said: “Why, indeed, is sexual intercourse forbidden on the day of a śrāddha, both for the one who offers it and for the Brahmin who eats the ritual meal? And for what purpose are three piṇḍa-offerings divided out separately, one by one?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: śrāddha is treated as a solemn, purity-centered ancestral rite, so the text asks for the rationale behind prohibiting maithuna for both host and officiating/feeding Brahmin, and for the doctrinal meaning of offering three distinct piṇḍas.
Bhishma, in his instructional discourse on dharma and rites, raises a specific question about śrāddha procedure—seeking reasons for (1) the ban on sexual activity on the śrāddha day for the performer and the Brahmin who eats, and (2) the practice of giving three separate piṇḍa offerings.