Shloka 4
भूमिदान-प्रसङ्गः । काश्यपी-पृथिवी तथा उतथ्य-वरुण-संवादः
Land-gift episode; Pṛthivī Kāśyapī; Utathya–Varuṇa dispute
प्रगृह्मौदुम्बरं पात्र पक््वान्नं मधुना सह | सोमस्योत्तिष्ठमानस्य पौर्णमास्यां बलिं हरेत्
pragṛhya audumbaraṃ pātraṃ pakvānnaṃ madhunā saha | somasya uttiṣṭhamānasya paurṇamāsyāṃ baliṃ haret ||
Skanda said: “Taking an udumbara-wood vessel, one should, on the full-moon night at the time of the Moon’s rising, offer as a bali an oblation of cooked food mixed with honey to Soma (the Moon). This is taught as a concealed dharma: a simple, reverent act of worship aligned with cosmic order, by which the worshipper gains steady merit and contributes to the increase and well-being associated with the Moon.”
स्कन्द उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ‘secret’ dharma is taught: on the full-moon at moonrise, offer a simple bali of honey-mixed cooked food in an udumbara-wood vessel to Soma. The emphasis is on reverent timing, purity of offering, and aligning one’s act with the lunar/cosmic rhythm to gain enduring religious merit.
Skanda is instructing a ritual observance within the Anuśāsana Parva’s broader dharma-discourse. He prescribes the materials (udumbara vessel, cooked food, honey), the time (Paurṇamāsī at moonrise), and the recipient (Soma), presenting it as a beneficial, merit-producing practice.