Shloka 34

जटायुनिर्वाणसंस्कारः

Jatayu’s Final Testimony and Funeral Rites

Devanagari script

यत्तत्प्रेतस्य मर्त्यस्य कथयन्ति द्विजातयः।।।।तत्स्वर्गगमनं तस्य पित्र्यं रामो जजाप ह।

Transliteration

yat tat pretasya martyasya kathayanti dvijātayaḥ |

tat svargagamanaṃ tasya pitryaṃ rāmo jajāpa ha ||

Translation

Quels que soient les rites et les mantras sacrés que les « deux fois nés » enseignent pour un mortel défunt—ceux qui favorisent son passage vers le ciel—Rāma les récita pour lui, comme on le ferait pour son propre père.

Word by Word

• yat: whatever/that which
• yat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd; प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd; प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun

• pretasya: of the departed/dead
• pretasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• martyasya: of a mortal
• martyasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• kathayanti: they tell/recite
• kathayanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathaya (कथय धातु; √kath/कथ् causative/णिजन्त)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्; Present), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन)

• dvijātayaḥ: the twice-born (brahmins)
• dvijātayaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvijāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)

• tat: that (all that)
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• svarga-gamanam: going to heaven
• svarga-gamanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक) + gamana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/उपपद-समास sense: 'going to heaven'

• tasya: of him/of that one
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular (एकवचन)

• pitryam: ancestral/pertaining to the fathers (pitṛs)
• pitryam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pitrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); adjective qualifying 'svargagamanaṃ'

• rāmaḥ: Rama
• rāmaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• jajāpa: recited/muttered
• jajāpa: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jap (जप् धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (लिट्; Perfect), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• ha: indeed/then
• ha: Sambandha (निपात/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ha (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle (निपात); emphasis/indeclinable

Context

Rama muttered the mantras recommended by brahmins for dead mortals as one would do for his father, to help him ascend to heaven.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• brahmins (dvijātayaḥ)
• svarga (heaven)
• Jatāyu (recipient of rites)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Dharma is reverence and filial-style responsibility extended beyond blood relations: one who upholds truth and protects the innocent deserves rites like a father.

What is the narrative situation?

Rāma performs the appropriate mantras for the dead, following brahminical prescription, intending Jatāyu’s auspicious passage.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Kṛtajñatā (gratitude) and humility before śāstra—Rāma follows the taught rite and elevates Jatāyu through honor.