Shloka 1
Śrāddha-pravṛtti-kathana and Varjya-dravya-nirdeśa
Origin and Prohibitions in Śrāddha
ऑपन--माजल छा अि<-छऋाज अष्टाशीतितमो<् ध्याय: श्राद्धमें पितरोंके तृप्तिविषयका वर्णन युधिछिर उवाच किंस्विद् दत्तं पितृभ्यो वै भवत्यक्षयमी श्वर । कि हविदश्विररात्राय किमानन्त्याय कल्पते
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kiṃ svid dattaṃ pitṛbhyo vai bhavaty akṣayam īśvara? kiṃ haviḥ śvīrātrāya kim ānantyāya kalpate?
Yudhiṣṭhira asked: “O revered lord, what offering given to the Pitṛs becomes inexhaustible? By what gift are the ancestors satisfied for a very long time, and by what gift are they satisfied for eternity?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry central to dharma: which forms of giving and ritual offering produce enduring, even ‘inexhaustible,’ benefit—specifically in the context of śrāddha and responsibility toward one’s ancestors.
At the opening of this chapter on śrāddha, Yudhiṣṭhira respectfully questions the elder authority (Bhīṣma in this parva’s discourse) about what gifts or oblations most effectively satisfy the Pitṛs—temporarily, for a long time, and eternally.