Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 93
दानशील-समाचारः, सत्कारः, अहिंसा च
Umā–Maheśvara Saṃvāda
हृष्यन्ति पितरश्चास्य श्राद्धकाल उपस्थिते । उसका भलीभाँति अनुष्ठान करके मनुष्य सुखी और निश्चिन्त हो जाता है। द्विजको चाहिये कि वह निराहार एवं एकाग्रचित्त होकर तीन दिनोंतक गोमूत्र
hṛṣyanti pitaraś cāsya śrāddhakāla upasthite |
Dhaugya said: “When the time for the śrāddha arrives, this person’s ancestors are gladdened and draw near. By performing the rite properly, a man becomes content and free from anxiety. A twice-born should, fasting and with a concentrated mind, offer oblations into the fire for three days using cow’s urine, cow-dung, cow’s milk, and cow’s ghee. Then, when a full year is completed, the gods accept his worship, and the Pitṛs too are pleased when the season of śrāddha comes at his home.”
धौग्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Properly performed śrāddha and disciplined ritual observance—done with fasting and focused mind—brings inner peace to the practitioner and is said to please both the gods and one’s ancestors, reinforcing the dharmic duty of gratitude and continuity toward forebears.
Dhaugya describes a prescribed observance for a dvija: for three days, while fasting and concentrating, one offers specific cow-derived substances as oblations into the fire; after a year’s completion, the gods accept the worship, and at the time of śrāddha the Pitṛs are especially pleased and present.