Shloka 29
ततः पितृत्वम् आपन्ने तस्मिन् प्रेते महीपते श्राद्धधर्मैर् अशेषैस् तु तत्पूर्वान् अर्चयेत् पितॄन्
tataḥ pitṛtvam āpanne tasmin prete mahīpate śrāddhadharmair aśeṣais tu tatpūrvān arcayet pitṝn
Thereafter, O lord of the earth, when that preta has entered the state of ancestorhood, one should, by fulfilling all the duties of Śrāddha, duly honor the Pitṛs—beginning with those who preceded him.
Sage Parāśara
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: After Sapīṇḍīkaraṇa: how to honor the Pitṛs by complete śrāddha duties once the departed attains pitṛ-status
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: didactic, continuity-focused
Concept: Once the departed is established as a pitṛ, one should perform full śrāddha observances and honor the ancestral line beginning with predecessors.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Cultivate gratitude and responsibility to forebears through periodic remembrance, charitable acts, and maintaining family vows with integrity.
Vishishtadvaita: Honoring pitṛs is part of ‘bhagavad-ārādhanā’ via dharma: service to the ordered community (including ancestors) is service within the Lord’s body (śarīra-śarīrī-bhāva), even if implicit.
FAQs
It teaches that after a ruler’s death, proper and complete Śrāddha rites should be performed to honor him as a Pitṛ and to venerate the line of ancestors before him, sustaining dharma and familial continuity.
Parāśara indicates that upon death the person is regarded as having entered the Pitṛ-state, and the living respond through prescribed Śrāddha duties that ritually acknowledge and support that ancestral status.
Even when the verse focuses on ritual duty, the Vishnu Purana frames dharma as part of the cosmic order upheld under Vishnu’s sovereignty—where right conduct, including Śrāddha, aligns human life with the Supreme sustaining principle.