Shloka 36
Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline
गजच्छायायां पूर्वस्यां कुतपे दक्षिणामुख: । यदा भाद्रपदे मासि भवते बहुले मघा
gajacchāyāyāṃ pūrvasyāṃ kutape dakṣiṇāmukhaḥ | yadā bhādrapade māsi bhavate bahule maghā |
Viśvāmitra said: “O gods, listen to this supremely secret teaching concerning dharma. When, in the month of Bhādrapada, during the dark fortnight, the constellation Maghā occurs, then a person who, facing south, stands at the auspicious ‘kutapa’ time—when the elephant’s shadow falls toward the east—and gives excellent food as an offering for the Pitṛs, is said to obtain an expansive fruit: by that single gift he is to be understood as having performed a great śrāddha for the Pitṛs in this world for thirteen years.”
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that properly timed and intentioned charity—especially the gift of good food dedicated to the Pitṛs—can yield exceptionally large merit. It emphasizes dharma as disciplined giving aligned with sacred time (nakṣatra, fortnight, and muhūrta) and correct ritual orientation.
Viśvāmitra addresses the gods and reveals a confidential rule about ancestral rites: under a specific calendrical configuration (Bhādrapada, dark fortnight, Maghā) and at the kutapa time, a person facing south and standing where an elephant’s shadow falls eastward should give food as an offering for the Pitṛs; the act is praised as equivalent to sustaining a great śrāddha for thirteen years.