Shloka 36
Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline
गजच्छायायां पूर्वस्यां कुतपे दक्षिणामुख: । यदा भाद्रपदे मासि भवते बहुले मघा
gajacchāyāyāṃ pūrvasyāṃ kutape dakṣiṇāmukhaḥ | yadā bhādrapade māsi bhavate bahule maghā |
Viśvāmitra dijo: «Oh dioses, escuchad esta enseñanza supremamente secreta acerca del dharma. Cuando, en el mes de Bhādrapada, durante la quincena oscura, aparece la constelación Maghā, entonces quien, mirando al sur, permanece en el tiempo auspicioso llamado “kutapa”—cuando la sombra del elefante cae hacia el este—y entrega alimento excelente como ofrenda para los Pitṛs, se dice que obtiene un fruto vasto: por ese solo don, debe entenderse que ha realizado en este mundo un gran śrāddha para los Pitṛs durante trece años.»
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that properly timed and intentioned charity—especially the gift of good food dedicated to the Pitṛs—can yield exceptionally large merit. It emphasizes dharma as disciplined giving aligned with sacred time (nakṣatra, fortnight, and muhūrta) and correct ritual orientation.
Viśvāmitra addresses the gods and reveals a confidential rule about ancestral rites: under a specific calendrical configuration (Bhādrapada, dark fortnight, Maghā) and at the kutapa time, a person facing south and standing where an elephant’s shadow falls eastward should give food as an offering for the Pitṛs; the act is praised as equivalent to sustaining a great śrāddha for thirteen years.