Shloka 15
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
आर्चिष्मन्तो बर्हिषद: कव्यादा: पितरस्तथा । मृतस्याप्यनुमन्यन्ते मन्त्रान् मन्त्राश्ष कारणम्
arcīṣmanto barhiṣadaḥ kavyādāḥ pitaras tathā | mṛtasyāpy anumanyante mantrān mantrāś ca kāraṇam ||
Kapila dit : «Les Pères, connus sous les noms d’Arcishmats, de Barhishads et de Kavyādas, accordent pareillement la permission de réciter des mantras même au nom de celui qui est mort, car les mantras sont la cause première qui soutient le devoir sacré et l’ordre juste.»
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
That mantras are a fundamental support of dharma and ritual order, and that ancestral beings (Pitṛs) are understood to sanction mantra-recitation performed for the welfare of the deceased.
Kapila is explaining the ritual-ethical framework of ancestral rites: specific classes of Pitṛs—Arcīṣmantaḥ, Barhiṣadaḥ, and Kavyādāḥ—are said to approve the use of mantras even when the intended beneficiary is a dead person, underscoring the legitimacy and efficacy of such rites.