Shloka 37

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

Devanagari script

यत्र क्वचन संस्थानां क्षुत्तृष्णोपहतात्मनाम् इदम् अप्य् अक्षयं चास्तु मया दत्तं तिलोदकम्

Transliteration

yatra kvacana saṃsthānāṃ kṣuttṛṣṇopahatātmanām idam apy akṣayaṃ cāstu mayā dattaṃ tilodakam

Translation

Wherever departed beings may dwell, whose very selves are stricken by hunger and thirst, may this sesame-mixed water offered by me become for them an imperishable support.

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक/relative adverb) — indeclinable locative adverb ‘where’

• क्वचन: somewhere
• क्वचन: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचन (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनिश्चित-स्थानवाचक adverb) — ‘somewhere/anywhere’

• संस्थानाम्: of beings/abodes (stations)
• संस्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संस्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन — genitive plural

• क्षुत्: hunger
• क्षुत्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षुत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग) — ‘hunger’ (as first member)

• तृष्णा: thirst
• तृष्णा: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृष्णा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (समासाङ्ग) — ‘thirst’ (as second member)

• उपहतात्मनाम्: of those whose selves are afflicted (by hunger and thirst)
• उपहतात्मनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपहत (कृदन्त, √हन् (धातु) + उपसर्ग उप) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिवत्-प्रयोगः; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन — ‘of those whose selves are afflicted’

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/प्रथमा or 2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — ‘this’

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle) — ‘also/even’

• अक्षयम्: imperishable
• अक्षयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — accusative singular qualifying ‘इदम्’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/ conjunction) — ‘and’

• अस्तु: may it be
• अस्तु: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन — ‘let it be’

• मया: by me
• मया: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — instrumental ‘by me’

• दत्तम्: given
• दत्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दत्त (कृदन्त, √दा (धातु), क्त-प्रत्यय past passive participle)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — PPP ‘given’ agreeing with ‘तिलोदकम्/इदम्’

• तिलोदकम्: sesame-water (water with sesame)
• तिलोदकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक) + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन — ‘sesame-water’

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya on Śrāddha rites)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Śraddhā-pūrvaka dāna (tilodaka) offered for departed beings becomes an enduring support for them.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Perform ancestral offerings with sincerity and a welfare-intent (saṅkalpa), remembering the vulnerable (the hungry and thirsty).

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma as service within Bhagavān’s ordered cosmos—acts done with right intent participate in His sustaining governance (niyantṛtva).

FAQs

What is the significance of tilodaka (sesame-water) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents tilodaka as a sustaining libation for departed beings, intended to become akṣaya (inexhaustible) nourishment wherever they may dwell.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the reach of Śrāddha offerings?

He frames the offering as universally directed—“wherever” the departed are—so the rite is not limited by location but by intention and proper performance.

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

Within the Vishnu Purana’s dharma-teaching framework, such rites function under cosmic order ultimately upheld by Vishnu, making ritual duty a way of aligning human conduct with the Lord’s sustaining sovereignty.