Shloka 26

Nāndīmukha-śrāddha (Prosperity Rites), Preta-kriyā, Aśauca, Ekoddiṣṭa, and Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa Framework

Devanagari script

एकोद्दिष्टमयो धर्म इत्थम् आवत्सरात् स्मृतः सपिण्डीकरणं तस्मिन् काले राजेन्द्र तच् छृणु

Transliteration

ekoddiṣṭamayo dharma ittham āvatsarāt smṛtaḥ sapiṇḍīkaraṇaṃ tasmin kāle rājendra tac chṛṇu

Translation

Thus is the rite called Ekoḍḍiṣṭa-dharma remembered as to be performed for a full year. Now, O best of kings, listen to the Sapīṇḍīkaraṇa to be done at that time.

Word by Word

• ekoddiṣṭa-mayaḥ: consisting of the ekoddiṣṭa rite
• ekoddiṣṭa-mayaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ekoddiṣṭa (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘धर्म’ इति पदस्य

• dharmaḥ: the rite/duty (dharma)
• dharmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ittham: thus
• ittham: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ittham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• ā-vatsarāt: after a year / from the yearly period
• ā-vatsarāt: Apādāna (Source/starting point)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; उपसर्ग ‘आ-’ सहित (आवत्सरात् = आवत्सरात्)

• smṛtaḥ: is stated/remembered
• smṛtaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate; passive)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘उक्तः/स्मृतः’

• sapiṇḍī-karaṇam: the sapiṇḍīkaraṇa (rite of making one a sapinda)
• sapiṇḍī-karaṇam: Karma/Viṣaya (Object/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa-piṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक) + karaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विषय/कर्मरूपेण

• tasmin: in that
• tasmin: Adhikaraṇa (Locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• kāle: time
• kāle: Adhikaraṇa (Time locus)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• rājendra: O best of kings
• rājendra: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘तत्’ + ‘शृणु’ (सन्धि: तच् छृणु)

• śṛṇu: hear
• śṛṇu: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in dialogue with Maitreya; addressing a kingly interlocutor as 'rājendra' within the instructional style)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Funeral/ancestral rites: the Ekoḍḍiṣṭa performed for one year and the subsequent Sapīṇḍīkaraṇa timing and procedure

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The one-year Ekoḍḍiṣṭa observance culminates in Sapīṇḍīkaraṇa, ritually transitioning the departed from solitary pretahood into the ancestral community.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Maintain disciplined remembrance and duties toward elders/ancestors, completing obligations in their proper sequence rather than sporadically.

Vishishtadvaita: Dharma as Bhagavat-ājñā: ordered ritual action sustains social-sacral harmony within the Lord’s governance (niyati), even when the verse is not explicitly devotional.

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• Maitreya
• Ancestors (Pitṛs)
• Kings

FAQs

What is the significance of Ekoḍḍiṣṭa in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse states that the Ekoḍḍiṣṭa-based śrāddha duty is traditionally maintained for a full year for the departed, framing it as a sustained dharmic obligation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain Sapīṇḍīkaraṇa here?

He introduces Sapīṇḍīkaraṇa as the next rite to be performed at the prescribed time—after the one-year Ekoḍḍiṣṭa period—signaling a transition from individual offering to incorporation into the ancestral line.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even in ritual instruction, the Vishnu Purana presents dharma as part of the universal order upheld under Vishnu’s sovereignty—household rites like śrāddha are portrayed as aligning human life with that cosmic law.