Shloka 126
ज्येष्ठ-कनिष्ठ-धर्मः — Duties of Elders and Juniors
Anuśāsana-parva 108
नक्षत्रे न च कुर्वीत यस्मिन् जातो भवेन्नर: । न प्रोष्ठपदयो: कार्य तथाग्नेये च भारत
nakṣatre na ca kurvīta yasmin jāto bhaven naraḥ | na proṣṭhapadayoḥ kārya tathāgneye ca bhārata bhārata |
Bhīṣma dit : «Un homme ne doit pas accomplir le rite sous la demeure lunaire où il est né. Il ne doit pas non plus le faire sous les deux Proṣṭhapadā (Bhādrapadā), ni de même sous la constellation Agneya (Kṛttikā), ô Bhārata. Cet enseignement fait du choix du moment rituel une part du dharma : même les offrandes méritoires aux ancêtres doivent être accomplies en tenant compte des astres déclarés favorables ou défavorables.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual merit depends not only on intention but also on correct observance; certain nakṣatras—one’s own birth-star, the two Proṣṭhapadās, and Kṛttikā—are prescribed as unsuitable times for performing such rites (especially ancestral offerings).
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, giving specific calendrical rules about when particular religious rites should or should not be performed.