Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 313
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
भवते का गतिस्तस्य क॑ वा समनुगच्छति । तथा अन्तिम पिण्ड जब अग्निमें डाल दिया जाता है, तब उसकी क्या गति होती है? वह किस देवताको प्राप्त होता है?
bhavate kā gatis tasya ka vā samanugacchati | tathāntima-piṇḍaṃ yadāgnau nikṣipyate tadā tasya kā gatiḥ bhavati sa kasya devatāṃ prāpnoti |
The divine messenger asks: “What becomes of him, and who accompanies him, when the final piṇḍa is cast into the fire? To which deity does he then attain?”
देवदूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a doctrinal inquiry: the final act of the funeral rite is not merely symbolic but is understood to influence the departed’s ‘gati’ (post-mortem course) and the divine sphere or deity with which the soul becomes aligned. It invites reflection on how dharmic ritual completion is linked to ethical order and karmic continuity.
A divine messenger questions the listener about the fate of a deceased person at the culminating moment of the rites—specifically when the last piṇḍa offering is consigned to fire—asking what destiny results and which deity is reached, setting up an explanation of śrāddha, cremation, and their intended spiritual outcomes.