Shloka 24

Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline

Devanagari script

धर्म उवाच राजपौरुषिके विप्रे घाण्टिके परिचारिके । गोरक्षके वाणिजके तथा कारुकुशीलवे

Transliteration

dharma uvāca rājapauruṣike vipre ghāṇṭike paricārike | gorakṣake vāṇijake tathā kārukuśīlave, piṇḍadāstasya hīyante na ca prīṇāti vai pitṝn |

Translation

Dharma said: “O brāhmaṇa, if one lives by royal service, or earns wages by ringing the bell, or serves others as a menial; if one makes a living by tending cattle, by trade, or by crafts and performance—then the one who gives such a person the piṇḍa (funeral offering) declines in merit, and the ancestors are not satisfied.”

Word by Word

• धर्मः: Dharma (personified)
• धर्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• राजपौरुषिके: in/with one who is a king's servant/retainer
• राजपौरुषिके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजपौरुषिक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• विप्रे: in/with a brahmin
• विप्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• घाण्टिके: in/with a bell-ringer
• घाण्टिके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: घाण्टिक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• परिचारिके: in/with an attendant/servant
• परिचारिके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिचारिक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• गोरक्षके: in/with a cowherd/cattle-keeper
• गोरक्षके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोरक्षक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• वाणिजके: in/with a trader/merchant
• वाणिजके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाणिजक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तथा: and likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• कारुकुशीलवे: in/with an artisan and an actor/bard
• कारुकुशीलवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारुकुशीलव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पिण्डदाः: givers of piṇḍa (funeral offering)
• पिण्डदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्डद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तस्य: of him/of that (such a person)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• हीयन्ते: decline / suffer loss
• Type: Verb
• Root: हा
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Atmanepada

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• प्रीणाति: satisfies/pleases
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्री
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• पितॄन्: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• पितॄन्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

धर्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• vipra (brāhmaṇa)
• pitṛs (ancestors)
• piṇḍa (śrāddha offering)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the efficacy of ancestral offerings (piṇḍa/śrāddha) depends not only on the giver’s intent but also on the ritual fitness of the recipient; giving śrāddha offerings to certain livelihood-groups is said to diminish the giver’s merit and fail to satisfy the ancestors.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dharma is laying down prescriptive norms for pitṛ-kārya (ancestral rites) within a broader Anuśāsana-parvan discussion on dharma, specifying categories of people to whom śrāddha offerings should not be given, and stating the negative consequence for the giver and the pitṛs.