Shloka 24

प्रतिग्रहभेदः — The Distinction between Giving and Accepting

Vṛṣādarbhī–Saptarṣi Dialogue

Devanagari script

विश्वेदेवाश्व ये नित्यं पितृभि: सह गोचरा: । तेभ्य: संकल्पिता भागा: स्वयमेव स्वयम्भुवा

Transliteration

Viśvedevāś ca ye nityaṃ pitṛbhiḥ saha gocarāḥ | tebhyaḥ saṅkalpitā bhāgāḥ svayam eva svayambhuvā ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “And the Viśvedevas—who ever move in the company of the Pitṛs—have their allotted shares already ordained for them by Svayambhū (Brahmā) himself. Therefore, after completing the preliminary rite with the proper utterance of Vedic mantras, one should regularly offer their due portion to the Viśvedevas who abide with Agni, Soma, Varuṇa, and the Pitṛs.”

Word by Word

• {'विश्वेदेवाः (Viśvedevāḥ)': 'the ‘All-gods’

• a collective class of deities invoked in Vedic rites', 'ये (ye)': 'who, those who', 'नित्यम् (nityam)': 'always, continually

• regularly', 'पितृभिः (pitṛbhiḥ)': 'with the ancestors (Pitṛs)', 'सह (saha)': 'together with', 'गोचराः (gocarāḥ)': 'moving/associated in the sphere

• companions in their range of activity', 'तेभ्यः (tebhyaḥ)': 'to them', 'संकल्पिताः (saṅkalpitāḥ)': 'assigned, determined, ordained', 'भागाः (bhāgāḥ)': 'shares, portions (especially sacrificial offerings)', 'स्वयम् (svayam)': 'personally, by himself', 'एव (eva)': 'indeed, precisely', 'स्वयम्भुवा (svayambhuvā)': 'by Svayambhū

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• भीष्म (Bhīṣma)
• विश्वेदेवाः (Viśvedevas)
• पितरः (Pitṛs)
• स्वयम्भू (Svayambhū/Brahmā)
• अग्नि (Agni)
• सोम (Soma)
• वरुण (Varuṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That ritual offerings are not arbitrary: the portions due to the Viśvedevas (and their association with the Pitṛs) are divinely ordained by Svayambhū (Brahmā), so one should regularly and correctly offer their share as part of dharmic ancestral and sacrificial observance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is instructing on proper religious conduct (especially offerings connected with the Pitṛs and Vedic rites), stating that the Viśvedevas—ever associated with the ancestors—have fixed sacrificial shares established by Brahmā, and thus should be duly honored in the sequence of ritual offerings.