Shloka 36
Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline
गजच्छायायां पूर्वस्यां कुतपे दक्षिणामुख: । यदा भाद्रपदे मासि भवते बहुले मघा
gajacchāyāyāṃ pūrvasyāṃ kutape dakṣiṇāmukhaḥ | yadā bhādrapade māsi bhavate bahule maghā |
ヴィシュヴァーミトラは言った。「神々よ、ダルマに関するこの至上の秘教を聞け。バードラパダ月の黒分（暗半月）にマガー（Maghā）宿が現れるとき、南に面し、吉時『クタパ』——象の影が東へ落ちる刻——にその影の中に立って、祖霊ピトリのために最上の食を供施する者は、広大な果報を得ると言われる。その一度の施しによって、この世において祖霊のための大いなるシュラーダ（śrāddha）を十三年にわたり行ったに等しいと知るべきである。」
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that properly timed and intentioned charity—especially the gift of good food dedicated to the Pitṛs—can yield exceptionally large merit. It emphasizes dharma as disciplined giving aligned with sacred time (nakṣatra, fortnight, and muhūrta) and correct ritual orientation.
Viśvāmitra addresses the gods and reveals a confidential rule about ancestral rites: under a specific calendrical configuration (Bhādrapada, dark fortnight, Maghā) and at the kutapa time, a person facing south and standing where an elephant’s shadow falls eastward should give food as an offering for the Pitṛs; the act is praised as equivalent to sustaining a great śrāddha for thirteen years.