Shloka 8
ब्राह्मण–क्षत्रिय-श्रेष्ठता-विवादः
Arjuna–Vāyu Dialogue on Brāhmaṇa and Kṣatriya Precedence
इमं मन्त्र जपन् श्राद्धे यताहारो हुकोपन: । दिग्गजोंने कहा--कार्तिक मासके कृष्णपक्षमें आश्लेषा नक्षत्र और मंगलमयी अष्टमी तिथिका योग होनेपर जो मनुष्य आहार-संयमपूर्वक क्रोधशून्य हो निम्नांकित मन्त्रका पाठ करते हुए श्राद्धके अवसरपर हमारे लिये गुड़मिश्रित भात देता है (वह महान् फलका भागी होता है) ।।
imaṃ mantraṃ japan śrāddhe yatāhāro hy akopanaḥ | kārtika-māse kṛṣṇa-pakṣe āśleṣā-nakṣatre maṅgalamayīm aṣṭamī-tithiṃ yogo bhavati | yaḥ pumān āhāra-saṃyama-pūrvakaḥ krodha-śūnyaḥ san nimnāṅkita-mantrasya pāṭhaṃ kurvan śrāddhāvasare asmākam arthāya guḍa-miśritaṃ bhaktaṃ dadāti sa mahān phala-bhāg bhavati || baladeva-prabhūtayo ye nāgā balavattarāḥ ||
The Diggajas said: “If, during a śrāddha, a person recites this mantra while keeping his diet restrained and his mind free from anger—and if this is done in the dark fortnight of Kārttika when the Āśleṣā constellation coincides with the auspicious eighth lunar day—then, by offering for our sake rice mixed with jaggery at that śrāddha, he becomes a recipient of great merit. Such are the mighty Nāgas, beginning with Baladeva, who are exceedingly powerful.”
रेणुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual efficacy is tied to ethical discipline: regulated food and freedom from anger, combined with proper timing and sincere offering, yields great merit.
Reṇukā describes an auspicious calendrical conjunction in Kārttika and prescribes a śrāddha practice—mantra-recitation and offering jaggery-mixed rice for the Nāgas—promising great spiritual fruit to the performer.