Shloka 31
Śrāddha’s Cosmic Reach and Kāla-Nirṇaya (Sacred Timings): Amāvāsyā, Nakṣatra-Yoga, Tīrtha, and Minimum Offerings
इत्य् एतत् पितृभिर् गीतं भावाभावप्रयोजनम् यः करोति कृतं तेन श्राद्धं भवति पार्थिव
ity etat pitṛbhir gītaṃ bhāvābhāvaprayojanam yaḥ karoti kṛtaṃ tena śrāddhaṃ bhavati pārthiva
Thus have the Pitṛs themselves declared this teaching on the true purpose of presence and absence (of prescribed conditions). O king, whoever performs it—by him the śrāddha is indeed accomplished.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya; addressing a kingly addressee within the teaching as ‘pārthiva’)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Validation of alternative śrāddha performance under absence of means; assurance of efficacy.
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Because the Pitṛs themselves authorize this principle, performance according to it truly accomplishes śrāddha even amid ‘presence/absence’ of normal conditions.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Follow dharma with sincerity and informed flexibility; do not abandon rites due to imperfect circumstances.
Vishishtadvaita: Scriptural authority and ordained recipients (Pitṛs) function within the Lord’s moral order, where intention and sanctioned means confer real efficacy.
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
It points to the rite’s true aim: even when certain external conditions are present or absent, the Śrāddha is considered fulfilled when it is sincerely performed according to the intended purpose taught by the Pitṛs.
He states that the Pitṛs themselves have defined the rite’s purpose, and that whoever carries it out accordingly is deemed to have truly accomplished the Śrāddha.
In the Vishnu Purana’s dharma framework, properly performed duties such as Śrāddha participate in cosmic order upheld by the Supreme Lord; ritual sincerity and right purpose align human action with that sustaining sovereignty.