Shloka 28
Śrāddha Vidhi (Pārvaṇa-Śrāddha): Invitations, Arghya, Protective Rites, Piṇḍa Offering, Dakṣiṇā, and Visarjana
अमुकगोत्राणामस्मत्पितृपितामहप्रपितामहानां सपत्नीकानामिदमन्नपानादिकमक्षय्यमस्त्विति पित्रादिब्राह्मणहस्ते तिलजलदानम् / अस्त्विति ब्राह्मणो वदेत् / एतन्मातामहादीनामक्षय्यमाशिषः / ॐ अघोराः पितरः सन्तु गोत्रं नो वर्धतां--दातारो नो ऽभिवर्धन्तां वेदाः सन्ततिरेव च / श्रद्धा च नो मा व्यगमद्बहुदेयञ्च नो ऽस्त्विति / अन्नञ्च नो बहु भवेदतिथींश्च लभेमहि / याचितारश्च नः सन्तु मा च याचिष्म कञ्चन / एताः सत्याशिषः सन्तु
amukagotrāṇāmasmatpitṛpitāmahaprapitāmahānāṃ sapatnīkānāmidamannapānādikamakṣayyamastviti pitrādibrāhmaṇahaste tilajaladānam / astviti brāhmaṇo vadet / etanmātāmahādīnāmakṣayyamāśiṣaḥ / oṃ aghorāḥ pitaraḥ santu gotraṃ no vardhatāṃ--dātāro no 'bhivardhantāṃ vedāḥ santatireva ca / śraddhā ca no mā vyagamadbahudeyañca no 'stviti / annañca no bahu bhavedatithīṃśca labhemahi / yācitāraśca naḥ santu mā ca yāciṣma kañcana / etāḥ satyāśiṣaḥ santu
'Para los de tal linaje —nuestros padres, abuelos y bisabuelos, junto con sus esposas— que esta ofrenda de comida y bebida sea inagotable'. Diciendo esto, se debe dar agua con sésamo en las manos de un brahmán. El brahmán debe responder: 'Que así sea'. Esta es la bendición infalible: 'Om. Que los Pitṛs sean propicios; que nuestro linaje aumente. Que nuestra fe nunca decaiga y tengamos abundantes medios para dar. Que tengamos comida en abundancia y recibamos huéspedes. Que haya quienes nos pidan, y que nunca tengamos que mendigar a nadie'.
Lord Viṣṇu (teaching Garuḍa/Vinata-putra)
Ritual Type: Parvana
Beneficiary: Pitr
Timing: Blessing and tilodaka-dāna segment toward the close of śrāddha
Concept: Śrāddha is not only offering but a dharmic economy: faith (śraddhā), giving capacity, hospitality, and learning are sought as enduring boons.
Vedantic Theme: Karma and saṃskāra shaping future conditions; dharma as the ground for artha/kāma pursued righteously, supporting sattva and social ṛta.
Application: Offer tilodaka with explicit sankalpa for fathers/grandfathers/great-grandfathers with wives; receive ‘astu’ from brāhmaṇa; recite blessing-mantras aiming at lineage growth, Vedic study, generosity, food security, and guest-reception.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: śrāddha setting with brāhmaṇa as pitṛ-pratinidhi receiving tilodaka
Related Themes: Culmination of the śrāddha sequence in 1.218.24-27; blessings formula here functions as closure
FAQs
This verse frames tilodaka-dāna as a formal transfer of an “inexhaustible” share of food and drink to one’s Pitṛs (including their wives), given through a brāhmaṇa’s hand, and sealed by the affirmation “astu.”
By ensuring continued support and satisfaction of the Pitṛs through śrāddha-style offerings, the householder sustains ancestral well-being and receives stabilizing blessings—lineage continuity, faith, and prosperity—which Garuda Purana links with orderly post-death rites and dharmic continuity.
Perform ancestor remembrance with a clear sankalpa (intention), give charity (especially food/water) with sincerity, cultivate hospitality to guests, and live so that you can give rather than beg—these are the ethical outcomes the mantra itself asks for.