Shloka 8
अलोभोपाख्यानम् — शुनःसख-यातुधानी-संवादः
The Allegory of Non-Greed: Śunaḥsakha and the Yātudhānī
भरतनन्दन! सोमके कहनेसे वे पितरोंसहित देवता मैरुपर्वतके शिखरपर विराजमान ब्रह्माजीके पास गये ।।
bharatanandana! somakena ukte te pitaraiḥ saha devāḥ meruparvataśikhare virājamānaṃ brahmāṇaṃ samupajagmuḥ. pitarā ūcuḥ—nivāpānnena bhagavan bhṛśaṃ pīḍyāmahe vayam; prasādaṃ kuru no deva, śreyo naḥ saṃvidhīyatām.
Bhishma dit : «Ô descendant de Bharata ! À la demande de Soma, les dieux—avec les Pitṛs—se rendirent auprès de Brahmā, assis au sommet du mont Meru. Les Pitṛs dirent : “Ô Seigneur Bienheureux, nous sommes cruellement tourmentés de devoir sans cesse consommer les offrandes du śrāddha (nivāpa). Accorde-nous ta grâce, ô divin, et ordonne pour nous ce qui est véritablement salutaire.”»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even sacred rites like śrāddha must be aligned with genuine welfare (śreyas). The verse frames ritual not as mechanical consumption but as something overseen by divine order and responsive to the well-being of those it is meant to benefit—hence the Pitṛs seek Brahmā’s guidance for a truly beneficial arrangement.
Prompted by Somaka’s request, the gods and the ancestral Pitṛs go to Brahmā on Mount Meru. The Pitṛs report that constant intake of śrāddha offerings (nivāpa) is causing them distress and ask Brahmā to show grace and establish a better, welfare-producing solution.