Shloka 45

Pātra-Nirṇaya and Ritual Procedure: Who to Feed, Who to Avoid, and Step-by-Step Śrāddha Performance

Devanagari script

दत्त्वा च दक्षिणां तेभ्यो वाचयेद् वैश्वदेविकान् प्रीयन्ताम् इति ये विश्वेदेवास् तेन इतीरयेत्

Transliteration

dattvā ca dakṣiṇāṃ tebhyo vācayed vaiśvadevikān prīyantām iti ye viśvedevās tena itīrayet

Translation

Having given them dakṣiṇā, he should have the Vaiśvadeva formulas recited, proclaiming: “May the Viśvedevas be pleased”—thus should he invoke those All-Gods.

Word by Word

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दा (धातु) → दत्त्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• दक्षिणाम्: the dakṣiṇā (fee)
• दक्षिणाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• तेभ्यः: to them
• तेभ्यः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (सामान्य-प्रयोग), चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), बहुवचन

• वाचयेत्: should cause to recite / should have recited
• वाचयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु) णिच् (causative)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिजन्त (causative)

• वैश्वदेविकान्: the Vaiśvadevika (formulas/verses)
• वैश्वदेविकान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्वदेविक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• प्रीयन्ताम्: may they be pleased
• प्रीयन्ताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्री (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/benedictive use), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• इति: thus
• इति: Vacana (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक (quotative particle)

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• विश्वेदेवाः: the Viśvedevas (all-gods)
• विश्वेदेवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वे (प्रातिपदिक) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• तेन: thereby / with that
• तेन: Karana/Hetu (Means/Cause)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत्; साधन/हेतु-अर्थे (thereby/with that)

• इति: thus
• इति: Vacana (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक

• ईरयेत्: should utter/recite
• ईरयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ईर्/ईरय् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Śrāddha sequencing: dakṣiṇā, Vaiśvadeva recitation, and pleasing the Viśvedevas

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: ritually precise

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: After dakṣiṇā, the rite is extended to the divine collectivity through Vaiśvadeva mantras, explicitly seeking the pleasure of the Viśvedevas.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Complete obligations fully—gratitude (dakṣiṇā) followed by inclusive prayer that aligns personal acts with universal good.

Vishishtadvaita: The rite integrates multiple divine recipients within one ordered sacrifice, reflecting the Lord’s governance of many deities as a coordinated whole.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Viśvedevas
• Vaiśvadeva (rite)
• Dakṣiṇā (ritual gift)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Viśvedevas in the Vishnu Purana’s household ritual context?

This verse frames the Viśvedevas as the collective recipients of the Vaiśvadeva invocation—pleasing them symbolizes aligning the householder’s daily rite with the wider divine order that Vishnu sustains.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the proper completion of a rite like Vaiśvadeva?

He emphasizes two essentials here: giving dakṣiṇā (ethical reciprocity and ritual fulfillment) and formally reciting the Vaiśvadeva formulas with the intention “may the Viśvedevas be pleased.”

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named, the rite is presented as participation in the divinely ordered cosmos—an order ultimately grounded in Vishnu’s sovereign maintenance (sthiti) of the world.