Shloka 27
Pātra-Nirṇaya and Ritual Procedure: Who to Feed, Who to Avoid, and Step-by-Step Śrāddha Performance
अग्नये कव्यवाहाय स्वाहेत्य् आदौ नृपाहुतिः सोमाय वै पितृमते दातव्या तदनन्तरम्
agnaye kavyavāhāya svāhety ādau nṛpāhutiḥ somāya vai pitṛmate dātavyā tadanantaram
First, the king should make the oblation with the invocation, “Svāhā to Agni, the bearer of ancestral offerings (kavya-vāha).” Thereafter, in the ordained sequence, he should offer to Soma, the Lord who is of the nature of the Pitṛs.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Sequence of śrāddha oblations: to Agni (kavyavāhana) and then Soma as pitṛmate
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative and liturgical
Concept: Śrāddha proceeds by ordained divine channels—Agni conveys the offering, and Soma embodies the Pitṛ principle—so sequence and invocation matter.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat spiritual practices as relational: acknowledge the ‘channels’ (teachers, tradition, discipline) through which offerings and intentions become effective.
Vishishtadvaita: Ritual mediation (Agni/Soma) reflects an ordered cosmos under the Lord; dharma works through divinely instituted agencies rather than isolated individual will.
Bhakti Type: Dasya
FAQs
Agni is invoked first because he is the consecrated carrier of offerings; the rite begins by entrusting the ancestral oblation into the proper divine channel before it is directed to the Pitṛ-related deity.
Parāśara specifies an ordered progression: first the oblation to Agni with the svāhā formula, and then the offering to Soma identified with the Pitṛs—showing that dharma is upheld through precise, inherited procedure.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purana frames ritual dharma as part of the sustaining cosmic order ultimately grounded in the Supreme Reality; correct observance supports harmony in the world that Vishnu preserves.