Shloka 39

अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः

Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving

Devanagari script

इष्टि: पुष्टियजनं याजनं च दानं॑ पुण्यानां कर्मणां च प्रयोग: । शकक्‍्त्या पित्र्यं यच्च किंचित्‌ प्रशस्तं सर्वाण्यात्मार्थे मानवो5यं करोति,मनुष्य अपनी शक्तिके अनुसार इष्टि-पुष्टि (शान्तिकर्म),, यजन, याजन, दान, पुण्यकर्मोंका अनुष्ठान तथा श्राद्ध आदि जो भी कुछ उत्तम कार्य करता है, वह सब अपने ही लिये करता है

Transliteration

iṣṭiḥ puṣṭiyajanaṃ yajanaṃ ca dānaṃ puṇyānāṃ karmaṇāṃ ca prayogaḥ | śaktyā pitryaṃ yac ca kiṃcit praśastaṃ sarvāṇy ātmārthe mānavo 'yaṃ karoti ||

Translation

Parāśara said: “The rites of iṣṭi and puṣṭi (appeasement and welfare-sacrifices), the performance of yajña and officiating for others, the giving of gifts, and the undertaking of other meritorious acts—indeed, whatever commendable duty a person performs according to his capacity, including ancestral rites (śrāddha)—he does all of it ultimately for his own sake (for his own spiritual welfare and future good).”

Word by Word

• {'iṣṭiḥ': 'a sacrificial rite

• an offering/oblation performed with a specific intention', 'puṣṭi-yajanam': 'welfare/propitiatory sacrifice aimed at nourishment, prosperity, or well-being', 'yajanam': 'performing a sacrifice (as the sacrificer)', 'yājanam': 'causing/assisting another to perform sacrifice

• officiating as a priest', 'dānam': 'gift, charity, giving', 'puṇyānām karmaṇām': 'of meritorious actions/deeds that produce religious merit', 'prayogaḥ': 'application, undertaking, performance (of rites/actions)', 'śaktyā': 'according to one’s ability/capacity', 'pitryam': 'ancestral rite

• śrāddha and related duties toward the Pitṛs', 'kiṃcit praśastam': 'anything whatsoever that is praised/commendable', 'sarvāṇi': 'all (these acts)', 'ātmārthe': 'for one’s own purpose

• for one’s own benefit (spiritual good)', 'mānavaḥ ayam': 'this human being/person', 'karoti': 'does, performs'}

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Pitṛs (ancestors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even acts praised as altruistic or religious—sacrifice, priestly service, charity, and ancestral rites—are, at their deepest level, undertaken for one’s own spiritual welfare: to secure merit, purification, and favorable results. The verse highlights the subtle self-regarding dimension of ritual and moral action.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, the sage Parāśara is instructing about dharma and the motivations behind righteous conduct. He lists standard Vedic and social duties (yajña, dāna, śrāddha) and concludes that a human performs them, within his means, ultimately for his own sake.