Shloka 9
Śrāddha-pravṛtti-kathana and Varjya-dravya-nirdeśa
Origin and Prohibitions in Śrāddha
एष्टव्या बहव: पुत्रा यद्येको5पि गयां व्रजेत् । यत्रासौ प्रथितो लोकेष्वक्षय्यकरणो वट:
eṣṭavyā bahavaḥ putrā yady eko 'pi gayāṃ vrajet | yatrāsau prathito lokeṣv akṣayyīkaraṇo vaṭaḥ ||
ભીષ્મે કહ્યું—ઘણા પુત્રોની ઇચ્છા રાખવી જોઈએ; કારણ કે તેમામાંથી એક પણ જો ગયા-તીર્થ જાય—જ્યાં લોકપ્રસિદ્ધ અક્ષયવટ છે, જે શ્રાદ્ધના ફળને અક્ષય બનાવે છે—તો પિતૃઓને સ્થાયી કલ્યાણ પ્રાપ્ત થાય છે.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the dharmic value of progeny in the context of pitṛdharma: even a single son who undertakes pilgrimage to Gayā and performs rites connected with Akṣayavaṭa can secure enduring, ‘imperishable’ benefit from śrāddha for the ancestors. Progeny is thus framed as a means of sustaining ancestral obligations and long-term merit.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including duties toward ancestors. Here he highlights the famed Gayā-tīrtha and its Akṣayavaṭa, emphasizing that pilgrimage and śrāddha performed there are believed to yield inexhaustible results, and therefore having sons is praised because they can carry out such rites.