Shloka 61
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
देव्या विवाहे निर्वेत्ते रुद्राण्या भुगुनन्दन । समागमे भगवतो देव्या सह महात्मन:
devyā vivāhe nirvṛtte rudrāṇyā bhṛgunandana | samāgame bhagavato devyā saha mahātmanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O descendant of Bhṛgu, when the marriage rites of the goddess Rudrāṇī had been duly completed, and when the great-souled Lord (Rudra/Śiva) was united in intimate companionship with the goddess—at that time (this event occurred).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the ensuing account within a sacred, dharmic setting: divine marriage and union are presented as auspicious contexts that authorize and sanctify the narrative that follows, emphasizing reverence for divine order and ritual completion.
Bhishma addresses Paraśurāma and specifies the time: after Rudrāṇī’s wedding rites were completed and when Lord Rudra (Śiva) was united with the goddess. It serves as a temporal and thematic introduction to the episode being recounted.