Shloka 117

सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्

Devanagari script

दत्ताः पितृभ्यो यत्रापस् तनयैः श्रद्धयान्वितैः समात्रयं प्रयच्छन्ति तृप्तिं मैत्रेय दुर्लभाम्

Transliteration

dattāḥ pitṛbhyo yatrāpas tanayaiḥ śraddhayānvitaiḥ samātrayaṃ prayacchanti tṛptiṃ maitreya durlabhām

Translation

O Maitreya, where sons endowed with reverent śraddhā offer water to the Pitṛs, those libations—given in proper measure—bestow upon the ancestors a rare and hard-won contentment.

Word by Word

• दत्ताः: given
• दत्ताः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दत्त (कृदन्त; √दा धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — ‘given’ (agreeing with आपः)

• पितृभ्यः: to the ancestors
• पितृभ्यः: सम्प्रदान (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे चतुर्थी (4th/चतुर्थी), बहुवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: अधिकरण (Locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक अव्यय (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• आपः: waters
• आपः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्/आप् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; नित्यबहुवचन (pluralia tantum)

• तनयैः: by sons
• तनयैः: करण (Instrument/Agentive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• श्रद्धया: with faith
• श्रद्धया: करण (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रद्धा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• अन्वितैः: endowed (with)
• अन्वितैः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्वित (कृदन्त; √इ धातु, उपसर्गः अनु-)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — ‘endowed/possessed’ (agreeing with तनयैः)

• समात्रयम्: a proper measure
• समात्रयम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स + मात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सम् + मात्रा) — ‘a due measure’

• प्रयच्छन्ति: they offer/give
• प्रयच्छन्ति: क्रिया (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √यम् (धातु) उपसर्गः प्र-
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तृप्तिम्: satisfaction
• तृप्तिम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृप्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• मैत्रेय: O Maitreya
• मैत्रेय: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मैत्रेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• दुर्लभाम्: hard to obtain
• दुर्लभाम्: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (agreeing with तृप्तिम्)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Merit of śrāddha/tarpaṇa performed at the tīrtha and its effect on Pitṛs

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Śraddhā-yukta tarpaṇa at a sacred tīrtha, offered in proper measure, yields exceptional benefit to the Pitṛs.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Perform ancestral rites with sincerity, correctness, and gratitude, integrating them with a life of dharma.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma as service within the Lord’s ordered universe: ritual obligations (to Pitṛs) are meaningful when suffused with śraddhā under Viṣṇu’s sovereignty.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Maitreya
• sons (tanaya)

FAQs

What is the significance of offering water to the Pitṛs in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse states that water-libations offered with sincere faith and proper measure grant the ancestors a rare satisfaction, highlighting Pitṛ-tarpaṇa as a key household duty within dharma.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the role of śraddhā (faith) in ritual acts?

Parāśara emphasizes that the offering is not merely physical; when performed by sons with śraddhā and due correctness, it becomes spiritually effective and yields true ‘tṛpti’ for the Pitṛs.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Within the Vishnu Purana’s dharma framework, such rites function under the sovereignty of cosmic order ultimately upheld by Vishnu; faithful performance aligns human action with that sustaining order.