Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 4
भूमिदान-प्रसङ्गः । काश्यपी-पृथिवी तथा उतथ्य-वरुण-संवादः
Land-gift episode; Pṛthivī Kāśyapī; Utathya–Varuṇa dispute
प्रगृह्मौदुम्बरं पात्र पक््वान्नं मधुना सह | सोमस्योत्तिष्ठमानस्य पौर्णमास्यां बलिं हरेत्
pragṛhya audumbaraṃ pātraṃ pakvānnaṃ madhunā saha | somasya uttiṣṭhamānasya paurṇamāsyāṃ baliṃ haret ||
उदुम्बर-लकड़ी का पात्र लेकर, पौर्णमासी को चन्द्रमा के उदय होते समय, मधु सहित पक्वान्न को सोम (चन्द्र) के लिए बलि रूप में अर्पित करे।
स्कन्द उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ‘secret’ dharma is taught: on the full-moon at moonrise, offer a simple bali of honey-mixed cooked food in an udumbara-wood vessel to Soma. The emphasis is on reverent timing, purity of offering, and aligning one’s act with the lunar/cosmic rhythm to gain enduring religious merit.
Skanda is instructing a ritual observance within the Anuśāsana Parva’s broader dharma-discourse. He prescribes the materials (udumbara vessel, cooked food, honey), the time (Paurṇamāsī at moonrise), and the recipient (Soma), presenting it as a beneficial, merit-producing practice.