Shloka 27
प्रतिग्रहभेदः — The Distinction between Giving and Accepting
Vṛṣādarbhī–Saptarṣi Dialogue
देवास्तु पितरो नाम निर्मिता ये स्वयम्भुवा । उष्णपा ये महाभागास्तेषां भाग: प्रकल्पित:
devāstu pitaro nāma nirmitā ye svayambhuvā | uṣṇapā ye mahābhāgāsteṣāṃ bhāgaḥ prakalpitaḥ ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Ciertos seres divinos, engendrados por Svayambhū (el Creador Auto-nacido), son conocidos con el nombre de “Pitṛs” (los Ancestros). A esos ilustres Pitṛs se los llama también Uṣṇapā. Para ellos, Svayambhū ha ordenado una porción específica en las ofrendas del śrāddha, afirmando que honrar a los antepasados es un deber sancionado dentro del dharma.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That honoring the Pitṛs through śrāddha is not optional sentiment but a dharmically authorized obligation: the Creator himself has assigned the Pitṛs their rightful share in offerings.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he identifies a class of beings called the Pitṛs—also termed Uṣṇapā—and explains their divine origin and their formally prescribed portion in śrāddha rites.