Shloka 22
Pātra-Nirṇaya and Ritual Procedure: Who to Feed, Who to Avoid, and Step-by-Step Śrāddha Performance
मन्त्रपूर्वं पितॄणां तु कुर्याद् आवाहनं बुधः तिलाम्बुना चापसव्यं दद्याद् अर्घ्यादिकं नृप
mantrapūrvaṃ pitṝṇāṃ tu kuryād āvāhanaṃ budhaḥ tilāmbunā cāpasavyaṃ dadyād arghyādikaṃ nṛpa
O King, the wise should first invoke the Fathers with the prescribed mantras; then, with water mixed with sesame, he should offer arghya and the other due oblations in the apasavya manner.
Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya; with an address ‘O King’ reflecting the purāṇic instructional style)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Mantra-based invocation of pitṛs and arghya with tilāmbu in apasavya mode (addressed to a king within the narrative)
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative and king-instructing
Concept: Mantra and proper substance (sesame-water) sacralize offerings to pitṛs, converting familial obligation into a purifying act.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Pair remembrance with disciplined practice—recite prayers, perform charity/food-giving on remembrance days, and cultivate gratitude.
Vishishtadvaita: Ritual action as śeṣa-bhāva: even pitṛ-tarpaṇa is ultimately under the Lord’s ordinance, integrating worldly bonds into God-centered duty.
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse prescribes sesame-water as the medium for arghya and related offerings to the Pitṛs, marking the rite as specifically ancestral and traditionally purificatory and sustaining for the departed.
He gives a clear order: first invoke the ancestors with mantras (āvāhana), then perform the offerings—arghya and others—using sesame-water in the apasavya mode.
By framing ancestral duty as dharma, the text situates household rites within the wider maintenance of ṛta (universal order), ultimately upheld by Vishnu as sovereign sustainer of cosmic and social harmony.