Shloka 19
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
गृह्नन्ति विहितं चेत्थं पिण्डो देय: कुशेष्विति । उसे ऊपर उठी देख मुझे बड़ा आश्वर्य हुआ। भरतश्रेष्ठ! साक्षात् मेरे पिता ही पिण्डका दान लेनेके लिये उपस्थित थे। प्रभो! किंतु जब मैंने शास्त्रीय विधिपर विचार किया
bhīṣma uvāca | gṛhṇanti vihitaṃ cetthaṃ piṇḍo deyaḥ kuśeṣv iti | tato 'haṃ tad-anādṛtya pitur hasta-nidarśanam |
ビーシュマは言った。「（こう考えたのだ。）『儀礼は命ぜられたとおりに行うべきなら、ピṇḍaはクシャ草（kuśa）の上に置かねばならぬ。』ゆえに私は、父が目の前に差し出したその手でさえ敬って従わなかった。シャーストラのみを決定の権威として、供献に関する微妙な規定を心に留め、すべてのピṇḍaをクシャ草の上にのみ捧げた。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinary personal experience (such as a father appearing to receive an offering) should not override śāstric injunction. Dharma here is defined by fidelity to the prescribed ritual method—offering the piṇḍa on kuśa-grass—rather than by emotional impulse or miraculous signs.
Bhishma recounts performing ancestral offerings. Though he perceives his father’s hand as if to take the piṇḍa directly, he restrains himself and follows the Vedic rule: the piṇḍa is to be placed on kuśa-grass, since Pitṛs are not to be fed by hand in this rite.