Shloka 2
अलोभोपाख्यानम् — शुनःसख-यातुधानी-संवादः
The Allegory of Non-Greed: Śunaḥsakha and the Yātudhānī
ऋषयो धर्मनित्यास्तु कृत्वा निवपनान्युत । तर्पणं चाप्यकुर्वन्त तीर्थाम्भोभिययतव्रता:
ṛṣayo dharmanityāstu kṛtvā nivapanāny uta | tarpaṇaṃ cāpy akurvanta tīrthāmbhobhir yayatavratāḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Les sages, toujours constants dans le dharma et observant leurs vœux avec une discipline rigoureuse, offraient d’abord les oblations funéraires ; puis, avec les eaux sacrées des tīrtha (gués de pèlerinage), ils accomplissaient aussi les libations de satisfaction destinées aux ancêtres. Ainsi la droiture était-elle maintenue par l’achèvement scrupuleux des rites dus aux défunts.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfast dharma includes completing one’s obligations to the departed: after making the prescribed offerings (nivapana), one should also perform tarpaṇa with sacred water, showing disciplined, vow-governed continuity in ritual and ethical duty.
Bhishma describes the customary practice of ancient sages: they performed post-offering rites and then used tīrtha-water to offer tarpaṇa to the ancestors, presenting an exemplary model of dharma-centered conduct.