Shloka 15

Tithi-vicara

Determination of Tithi for Fasts, Parana, and Pitri Rites

Devanagari script

पारणे मरणे नॄणां तिथिस्तात्कालिकी स्मृता । पित्र्येऽस्तमनवेलायां स्पर्शे पूर्णा निगद्यते ॥ १५ ॥

Transliteration

pāraṇe maraṇe nṝṇāṃ tithistātkālikī smṛtā | pitrye'stamanavelāyāṃ sparśe pūrṇā nigadyate || 15 ||

Translation

For pāraṇa (the breaking of a fast) and for a person’s death, the tithi is to be taken as the one prevailing at that very moment. But for ancestral rites (pitṛ-karman), when the tithi touches the time around sunset, it is declared “complete” and fully applicable.

Word by Word

• पारणे: at the breaking (of fast)
• पारणे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; locative singular

• मरणे: at death
• मरणे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; locative singular

• नॄणाम्: of men/people
• नॄणाम्: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; genitive plural

• तिथिः: lunar day (tithi)
• तिथिः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; nominative singular

• तात्कालिकी: immediate/pertaining to that moment
• तात्कालिकी: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तात्कालिकी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; adjective agreeing with तिथिः

• स्मृता: is regarded (as)
• स्मृता: विधेय (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is considered/remembered’

• पित्र्ये: in the ancestral (rite)
• पित्र्ये: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पित्र्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; locative singular; ‘in the pitṛ-related (rite)’

• अस्तमन-वेलायाम्: at the time of sunset
• अस्तमन-वेलायाम्: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्तमन (प्रातिपदिक) + वेला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; locative singular; तत्पुरुष-समास (अस्तमनस्य वेला)

• स्पर्शे: at the contact/touch (moment)
• स्पर्शे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; locative singular

• पूर्णा: complete/full
• पूर्णा: विधेय-विशेषण (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular; agreeing with तिथिः (understood)

• निगद्यते: is stated/declared
• निगद्यते: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + गद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Narada

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: bhakti

Characters & Entities

• Pitrs

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in Narada Purana?

It preserves dharmic precision in time-keeping: different sacred acts require different tithi rules, ensuring that vrata observance and pitṛ-tarpaṇa/śrāddha are performed in the correct temporal window.

How does this verse explain the path of devotion (Bhakti)?

It supports bhakti through disciplined observance—proper pāraṇa timing protects the integrity of a Vishnu-centered vrata, while correct pitṛ rites uphold gratitude and dharma, both considered supportive to spiritual progress.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa (Vedic calendrics/astronomy): it distinguishes “moment-prevailing tithi” for pāraṇa and death from the “sunset-contact tithi counted as complete” rule used for pitṛ rites.