Shloka 24
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
भ्राद्धं दत्त्वा च भुक्त्वा च पुरुषो यः स्त्रियं ब्रजेत् । पितरस्तस्य तं॑ मासं तस्मिन् रेतसि शेरते
śrāddhaṃ dattvā ca bhuktvā ca puruṣo yaḥ striyaṃ brajet | pitaras tasya taṃ māsaṃ tasmin retasi śerate ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Si un hombre, después de ofrecer el śrāddha y luego de comer, va a una mujer (para unirse carnalmente), se dice que sus antepasados permanecen, durante todo ese mes, yacen en ese mismo semen.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
After performing and partaking in śrāddha, one should observe restraint and avoid sexual intercourse; the rite demands separation from sensual acts to preserve ritual purity and proper reverence toward the ancestors.
Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, states a prescriptive rule about conduct surrounding śrāddha, using a vivid consequence—ancestors ‘resting’ in the man’s semen for a month—to discourage intercourse immediately after the rite.