Shloka 26
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
पिण्डं तु मध्यमं तत्र पत्नी त्वेका समश्षुते । पिण्डस्तृतीयो यस्तेषां तै दद्याज्जातवेदसि
piṇḍaṃ tu madhyamaṃ tatra patnī tv ekā samaśnute | piṇḍas tṛtīyo yas teṣāṃ taṃ dadyāj jātavedasi ||
Bhīṣma said: “There, the middle rice-ball offering is to be eaten only by the wife. And the third of those offerings should be consigned to Jātavedas (the sacred fire).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches orderly, dharma-aligned allocation of śrāddha offerings: the middle piṇḍa is reserved exclusively for the wife’s consumption, and the third is to be offered into the sacred fire (Agni/Jātavedas), emphasizing ritual propriety and role-based participation.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma is explaining procedural details of the śrāddha rite—specifically how the piṇḍas are to be handled and to whom/where they are to be directed.