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 dit : «Ô dieux, écoutez cet enseignement suprêmement secret concernant le dharma. Lorsque, au mois de Bhādrapada, durant la quinzaine sombre, la constellation Maghā se manifeste, alors celui qui, tourné vers le sud, se tient au temps propice nommé “kutapa”—quand l’ombre de l’éléphant tombe vers l’est—et donne une nourriture excellente en offrande pour les Pitṛs, est dit obtenir un fruit immense : par ce seul don, il faut comprendre qu’il a accompli en ce monde un grand śrāddha pour les Pitṛs durant treize années.»
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.