Varaha Purana 13.36: Adhyaya 13, Shloka 36
The Genealogy of the Pitṛs and the Determination of Śrāddha Times
Pūrva Bhāga · Dharma-śāstra / Śrāddha-kāla-nirṇaya (Ritual Timing and Ancestral Rites)
श्राद्धं कुर्वीत विज्ञाय व्यतीपातेऽयने तथा । विषुवे चैव सम्प्राप्ते ग्रहणे शशिसूर्ययोः । समस्तेष्वेव विप्रेन्द्र राशिष्वर्केऽतिगच्छति ॥ १३.३६ ॥
śrāddhaṃ kurvīta vijñāya vyatīpāte 'yane tathā | viṣuve caiva samprāpte grahaṇe śaśisūryayoḥ | samasteṣv eva viprendra rāśiṣv arke 'tigacchati || 13.36 ||
shrAddhaM kurvIta vij~nAya vyatIpAte.ayane tathA | viShuve chaiva saMprApte grahaNe shashisUryayoH | samasteShveva viprendra rAshiShvarke.atigachChati || 13.36 ||
सही टाइम देख के श्राद्ध करना। व्यतिपात के टाइम, और जब सूरज उत्तर या दक्षिण की तरफ जाए। जब दिन और रात बराबर हो, या सूरज और चाँद ग्रहण में हों। जब सूरज सारी राशियों से गुजरे, तब भी करना चाहिए।
Sandhi Notes
- vyatīpāte 'yane = vyatīpāte + ayane (sandhi: e + a → ’a)
- samasteṣv eva = samasteṣu + eva (sandhi: u + e → v e)
- arke 'tigacchati = arke + atigacchati (sandhi: e + a → ’a)
Varāha
Attentive, practical-minded
Which calendrical/astronomical junctures are especially fit for śrāddha, and why are they singled out?
Right action is harmonized with cosmic rhythms; liminal times intensify the efficacy of offerings and remembrance.
Maintain a ritual calendar; plan śrāddha/tarpaṇa around saṃkrānti, ayana, viṣuva, and grahaṇa with purity and focus.
Didactic guidance within the Varāha–Bhū dialogue frame.
Astronomical thresholds mirror yajña-thresholds: when cosmic order (ṛta) is visibly ‘turning’, offerings to pitṛs align the microcosm (household) with macrocosm (solar-lunar rhythm).
Sun’s rāśi-gamana as a ritual procession; eclipses as liminal moments demanding purification/offerings; ayana/viṣuva as cosmic ‘saṃdhi’ (junction) akin to saṃdhyā rites.
Time (kāla) as a manifestation of the Lord’s order; dharmic action performed at saṃdhi-kāla trains awareness of impermanence and cosmic law.
Perform śrāddha at major astronomical nodes—Vyatīpāta, solstices, equinox, lunar/solar eclipses, and as the Sun transits the zodiac signs.
Observance at these potent kālas amplifies pitṛ-tṛpti and puṇya; omission forfeits heightened merit available at these cosmic ‘doors’ of time.
Varāha Purāṇa 13.13.35 (general śrāddha-kāla); Varāha Purāṇa 13.13.37 (situational/voluntary śrāddha)
FAQs
It reflects a Purāṇic synthesis of ritual duty (śrāddha) with observational calendrics, indicating how time-reckoning (eclipses, solstices, equinoxes, solar transits) informed normative practice in premodern Sanskrit textual culture.
No specific geographic site is named in this verse; the focus is on temporal markers (astronomical and calendrical events) rather than a pilgrimage location.
The verse advises that ancestral rites should be performed with informed attention to appropriate times, emphasizing conscientious observance and alignment of human duties with recognized calendrical moments.
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