Shloka 19
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
गृह्नन्ति विहितं चेत्थं पिण्डो देय: कुशेष्विति । उसे ऊपर उठी देख मुझे बड़ा आश्वर्य हुआ। भरतश्रेष्ठ! साक्षात् मेरे पिता ही पिण्डका दान लेनेके लिये उपस्थित थे। प्रभो! किंतु जब मैंने शास्त्रीय विधिपर विचार किया
bhīṣma uvāca | gṛhṇanti vihitaṃ cetthaṃ piṇḍo deyaḥ kuśeṣv iti | tato 'haṃ tad-anādṛtya pitur hasta-nidarśanam |
Bhīṣma dijo: «(Pensando así:) “Si el rito ha de cumplirse conforme a lo prescrito, entonces el piṇḍa debe colocarse sobre la hierba kuśa.” Por ello no honré ni siquiera la mano visible y extendida de mi padre. Tomando a la escritura como única autoridad decisiva, y atento a la sutil norma del ofrecimiento, deposité todos los piṇḍa únicamente sobre la hierba kuśa.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinary personal experience (such as a father appearing to receive an offering) should not override śāstric injunction. Dharma here is defined by fidelity to the prescribed ritual method—offering the piṇḍa on kuśa-grass—rather than by emotional impulse or miraculous signs.
Bhishma recounts performing ancestral offerings. Though he perceives his father’s hand as if to take the piṇḍa directly, he restrains himself and follows the Vedic rule: the piṇḍa is to be placed on kuśa-grass, since Pitṛs are not to be fed by hand in this rite.