Shloka 148
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
अग्न्यभावे च कुरुते वह्निस्थानेषु काउ्चनम् | जामदग्न्य प्रमाणज्ञो वेदश्रुतिनिदर्शनात्
agnyabhāve ca kurute vahnistāneṣu kāñcanam | jāmadagnyaḥ pramāṇajño vedaśrutinidarśanāt ||
Vasiṣṭha dijo: «Cuando falta el fuego, quien conoce la autoridad válida (pramāṇa)—tal como lo muestra la revelación védica—puede emplear oro en el lugar donde se requiere el fuego. Oh Paraśurāma, hijo de Jamadagni, esto enseña que el dharma se sostiene siguiendo el precedente de los Vedas y adoptando un sustituto autorizado cuando las circunstancias impiden el rito principal.»
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma and ritual duty are guided by Vedic authority; when the primary requirement (fire) is genuinely unavailable, one may use an approved substitute (gold) as supported by śruti-based precedent, preserving the intent of the rite rather than abandoning it.
Vasiṣṭha addresses Paraśurāma (Jāmadagnya), citing a Vedic-style example: in the absence of fire, gold may be used in the ritual context where fire would normally be employed, demonstrating how learned authorities apply śruti-backed alternatives under constraint.