Shloka 10
Śrāddha-dvija-parīkṣā: Paṅkti-dūṣa and Paṅkti-pāvana (श्राद्धे द्विजपरीक्षा—पङ्क्तिदूष-पङ्क्तिपावन)
प्रतिपदा तिथिको पितरोंकी पूजा करनेसे मनुष्य अपने उत्तम गृहमें मनके अनुरूप सुन्दर एवं बहुसंख्यक संतानोंको जन्म देनेवाली दर्शनीय भार्या प्राप्त करता है ।। स्त्रियो द्वितीयां जायन्ते तृतीयायां तु वाजिन: । चतुर्थ्या क्षुद्रपशवो भवन्ति बहवो गृहे,द्वितीयाको श्राद्ध करनेसे कन््याओंका जन्म होता है। तृतीयाके श्राद्धसे घोड़ोंकी प्राप्ति होती है, चतुर्थीको पितरोंका श्राद्ध किया जाय तो घरमें बहुत-से छोटे-छोटे पशुओंकी संख्या बढ़ती है
pratipadā-tithau pitr̥-pūjāṁ kṛtvā manuṣyaḥ svottame gṛhe manānurūpāṁ sundarīṁ bahu-santāna-prasavāṁ darśanīyāṁ bhāryāṁ prāpnoti. striyo dvitīyāyāṁ jāyante, tṛtīyāyāṁ tu vājinaḥ; caturthyāṁ kṣudra-paśavo bhavanti bahavo gṛhe.
Bhīṣma said: “If a man worships the Pitṛs on the Pratipadā lunar day, he gains in his excellent household a pleasing and beautiful wife, according to his heart’s desire, who bears many children. When the ancestral rite is performed on the Dvitīyā, daughters are born; on the Tṛtīyā, horses are obtained; and if the Pitṛs are honored on the Caturthī, many small domestic animals increase in the home.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that honoring the ancestors (Pitṛs) through śrāddha/pūjā on specific lunar days is a dharmic act believed to yield distinct household-oriented fruits—marital harmony and progeny, or material supports like horses and livestock—thus linking ritual duty to social and domestic well-being.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including rites for the ancestors. Here he enumerates the reputed results of performing Pitṛ-worship on particular tithis (Pratipadā through Caturthī), presenting a calendrical guide to śrāddha observance and its expected outcomes.