Shloka 27

गृहस्थस्य सदाचारः: शौच, तर্পण, वैश्वदेव, अतिथिधर्म, भोजन-विधि, संध्योपासन, ऋतु-धर्मः

Devanagari script

शुचिवस्त्रधरः स्नातो देवर्षिपितृतर्पणम् तेषाम् एव हि तीर्थेन कुर्वीत सुसमाहितः

Transliteration

śucivastradharaḥ snāto devarṣipitṛtarpaṇam teṣām eva hi tīrthena kurvīta susamāhitaḥ

Translation

Clad in clean garments and purified by bathing, one should, with steady and collected mind, perform tarpaṇa—libations of satisfaction—to the gods, the Ṛṣis, and the Pitṛs; for by their own sacred water (tīrtha) these offerings are rightly fulfilled.

Word by Word

• शुचि-वस्त्र-धरः: wearing clean garments
• शुचि-वस्त्र-धरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक) + वस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक) + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शुचीनि वस्त्राणि धारयति इति)

• स्नातः: bathed
• स्नातः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्ना (धातु) → स्नात (कृदन्त/क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• देव-ऋषि-पितृ-तर्पणम्: offering of satisfaction (libation) to gods, sages, and ancestors
• देव-ऋषि-पितृ-तर्पणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक) + पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (देवानां च ऋषीणां च पितॄणां च तर्पणम्)

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (त्रिलिङ्ग)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• हि: for/indeed
• हि: Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; causal/emphatic)

• तीर्थेन: by/with the sacred water (tīrtha)
• तीर्थेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• कुर्वीत: should perform
• कुर्वीत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• सु-समाहितः: well-composed, attentive
• सु-समाहितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (अव्यय-उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + समाहित (कृदन्त/क्त; सम्-आ-धा धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (सुष्ठु समाहितः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Proper procedure for tarpaṇa/śrāddha-related offerings and their recipients

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Purity (snāna, śuci-vastra) and focused attention are prerequisites for correctly satisfying devas, ṛṣis, and pitṛs through tarpaṇa using their appropriate tīrtha.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Approach ancestral and devotional duties with cleanliness, mindfulness, and fidelity to prescribed forms rather than haste or display.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma as Bhagavat-ājñā: ritual duties are meaningful as service within the Lord-governed cosmic order, linking household practice to sacred reality.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Rishis
• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the significance of tarpaṇa to devas, rishis, and pitṛs in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames tarpaṇa as a dharmic act performed after purification, sustaining right relationship with cosmic powers (devas), transmitters of sacred knowledge (ṛṣis), and one’s lineage (pitṛs).

How does Sage Parāśara explain the required mindset for ritual acts?

He emphasizes su-samāhita—mental collectedness—indicating that inner attentiveness is essential for the rite to be properly effective, not merely the external action.

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

Though Vishnu is not named here, the teaching situates daily dharma as participation in the ordered universe ultimately grounded in Vishnu as Supreme Reality and sustainer of cosmic law.