Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 50
संस्कृतं पायसं नित्यं यवागूं कूसरं हवि: । अष्टका: पितृदैवत्या ग्रहाणामभिपूजनम्
saṃskṛtaṃ pāyasaṃ nityaṃ yavāgūṃ kūsaraṃ haviḥ | aṣṭakāḥ pitṛ-daivatyā grahāṇām abhipūjanam ||
Bhīṣma teaches that one should regularly prepare well-made ritual foods—sweet milk-rice (pāyasa), porridge (yavāgū), halva-like preparations (kūsara), and sacred oblations (havis)—and perform the Aṣṭakā rites dedicated to the Pitṛs (ancestors). One should also duly worship the Grahas, the planetary deities.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma includes disciplined household rites: offering properly prepared foods as havis, performing Aṣṭakā rites for the ancestors, and honoring the Grahas—thereby fulfilling obligations to lineage (Pitṛs) and maintaining harmony with cosmic forces.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he prescribes specific ritual observances: preparing certain offerings and conducting Aṣṭakā-Śrāddha for the Pitṛs, along with worship of the planetary deities.