Shloka 283

Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)

Devanagari script

सुवर्णदानेडकरवं मतिं च भरतर्षभ | 'जो सुवर्ण दान करते हैं, वे अपने पहले और पीछेकी दस-दस पीढ़ियोंका उद्धार कर देते हैं।।

Transliteration

suvarṇadāne ḍakaravaṃ matiṃ ca bharatarṣabha | ye suvarṇaṃ dadati te pūrvaṃ ca paraṃ ca daśa-daśa pīḍhīr uddharanti || rājan! yadā me pitaro ’bruvan tadā me nidrā vyapāyata | tadā svapnasmṛtyā mama mahān vismayaḥ samajāyata | prajānātha! bharataśreṣṭha! tataḥ suvarṇadānaṃ kartum eva niścayaṃ cakāra ||

Translation

「婆羅多族の雄牛よ、我が心は黄金の布施へと強く駆り立てられた。『黄金を施す者は、自らの前の十代と後の十代とを救い上げる』。祖霊がかく語ったとき、我が眠りは破れて目覚めた。夢を思い起こして、我は大いなる驚異に満たされた。民の主よ、婆羅多族の最勝者よ—そのとき我は、黄金施与を行うと固く決意したのだ。」

Word by Word

• {'suvarṇa': 'gold', 'suvarṇadāna': 'the gifting/donation of gold', 'dāna': 'charitable giving

• gift', 'bharatarṣabha': 'O bull among the Bharatas (honorific for a Kuru prince, typically Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'rājan': 'O king', 'pitaras': 'ancestors

• forefathers (often including pitṛs in a ritual sense)', 'pūrvam': 'before

• earlier (prior generations)', 'param': 'after

• later (future generations)', 'daśa-daśa': 'ten and ten', 'pīḍhī': 'generation

• lineage-step', 'uddharanti': 'they rescue

• they deliver', 'nidrā': 'sleep', 'svapna': 'dream', 'smṛti/smaraṇa': 'remembrance

• recollection', 'vismaya': 'wonder

• astonishment', 'prajānātha': 'lord of the people (epithet of the king)', 'bharataśreṣṭha': 'best among the Bharatas', 'niścaya': 'firm resolve

• determination', 'cakāra': 'made

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• pitaras (ancestors/forefathers)
• rājan (the king, addressed—Yudhiṣṭhira in context)
• suvarṇa (gold)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches the dharmic power of dāna—specifically suvarṇadāna (donating gold)—as an act believed to generate merit that benefits not only the giver but also their lineage, rescuing ten generations before and after.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma recounts that after hearing his ancestors’ declaration (in connection with a dream), he awakens in astonishment and forms a firm resolve to undertake the donation of gold, presenting it as a morally weighty decision rooted in ancestral instruction.