Shloka 38
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
इसी तरह जब ब्राह्मणके यहाँ देवकार्य होता हो, तब उसमें *कारसहित पुण्याहवाचनका विधान है (अर्थात् 'पुण्याहं भवन्तो ब्रुवन्तु--आपलोग पुण्याहवाचन करें' ऐसा यजमानके कहनेपर ब्राह्मणोंको “३० पुण्याहम् ३» पुण्याहम्” इस प्रकार कहना चाहिये)। यही वाक्य क्षत्रियके यहाँ बिना *कारके उच्चारण करना चाहिये ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | evaṃ yadā brāhmaṇasya gṛhe devakāryaṃ bhavati tadā tatra sakāraṃ puṇyāhavācanasya vidhir asti (yajamāne vadati—“puṇyāhaṃ bhavanto bruvantu” iti; brāhmaṇaiḥ “puṇyāham, puṇyāham” iti vaktavyam) | kṣatriyasya tu gṛhe tad eva vākyaṃ akāraṃ vinā uccāraṇīyam || vaiśyasya daive vaktavyaṃ—“prīyantāṃ devatāḥ” iti | karmaṇām ānupūrvyeṇa vidhipūrvaṃ kṛtaṃ śṛṇu ||
Bhishma said: “Likewise, when a Brahmin performs a rite for the gods in his home, the formal ‘pious-day’ proclamation (puṇyāha) is to be made with the prescribed particle; when the patron requests, ‘Let the venerable ones proclaim the auspicious day,’ the Brahmins should respond, ‘Auspicious indeed, auspicious indeed.’ In a Kshatriya’s house, the same formula should be uttered without that particle. In a Vaishya’s divine rite, one should say, ‘May the deities be pleased.’ Now listen, in due order, to the proper, rule-governed procedure for the duties of the three social orders.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual speech is part of dharma: the same divine rite begins with prescribed auspicious proclamations, and Bhishma emphasizes that correct formulae and sequence (vidhi, ānupūrvya) matter, with minor variations according to the patron’s varna.
In Bhishma’s instruction on conduct (Anushasana Parva), he details how householders should commence deity-rites: what the patron says, how Brahmins respond with ‘puṇyāham,’ how the Kshatriya usage differs, and what benediction is used in a Vaishya’s rite, before moving on to the ordered procedures for the three varnas.