Shloka 36
Pātra-Nirṇaya and Ritual Procedure: Who to Feed, Who to Avoid, and Step-by-Step Śrāddha Performance
मातामहस् तृप्तिम् उपैतु तस्य तथा पिता तस्य पिता तथान्यः विश्वे च देवाः परमां प्रयान्तु तृप्तिं प्रणश्यन्तु च यातुधानाः
mātāmahas tṛptim upaitu tasya tathā pitā tasya pitā tathānyaḥ viśve ca devāḥ paramāṃ prayāntu tṛptiṃ praṇaśyantu ca yātudhānāḥ
May his maternal grandfather attain full satisfaction; so too his father, his father’s father, and the other forebears. May the Viśvedevas also reach supreme contentment through this offering—and may the yātudhānas, the hostile devourers of rites, be driven to ruin.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya in a prescriptive-ritual context)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Proper beneficiaries of śrāddha and protective invocations within the rite
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Śrāddha extends beyond paternal lineage to maternal forebears and includes deva-satisfaction, while hostile forces to dharma are ritually repelled.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Broaden gratitude to both sides of lineage; protect sacred practices by cultivating clarity, purity, and vigilance against corrosive habits.
Vishishtadvaita: Dharma is a divinely sustained network of relations (devas, pitṛs, humans); ritual participates in that real, ordered cosmos under the Lord.
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse frames offerings as a means by which multiple lines of forebears—maternal and paternal—receive ritual ‘satisfaction,’ reinforcing dharma through continuity of lineage and proper rites.
By pairing the satisfaction of gods and ancestors with the explicit negation of yātudhānas, Parāśara presents ritual as both nourishment for rightful recipients and a safeguard against rite-destroying influences.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana treats dharmic rites and cosmic order as operating under Vishnu’s sovereign governance—ritual harmony mirrors the Supreme Reality’s sustaining power.