Shloka 67

Adhyaya 23 — Ashvatara’s Vow for Madalasa and the Bestowal of Musical Science by Sarasvati

Sanskrit

श्राद्धे तु समनुप्राप्ते मध्यमं पिण्डमात्मना ।

भक्षयेथाः फणिश्रेष्ठ ! शुचिः प्रयतमांसनः ॥

Transliteration

śrāddhe tu samanuprāpte madhyamaṃ piṇḍam ātmanā | bhakṣayethāḥ phaṇiśreṣṭha! śuciḥ prayatamānasaḥ ||

Translation

「シュラーダ（śrāddha）の時が来たなら、汝みずから中のピンダ（葬儀供養の飯団）を食すべし、あまたのフードを戴く者のうち最勝よ—清浄にして心を制御して。」

Word by Word

• श्राद्धे: in/at the śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात/पक्षे (particle, emphatic/contrast)

• समनुप्राप्ते: having arrived/when it has come
• समनुप्राप्ते: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-अनु-प्राप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘श्राद्धे’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• मध्यमम्: the middle
• मध्यमम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मध्यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘पिण्डम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• पिण्डम्: rice-ball offering (piṇḍa)
• पिण्डम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्म

• आत्मना: by yourself
• आत्मना: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण (instrumental)

• भक्षयेथाः: you should eat
• भक्षयेथाः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; विधिलिङ्गार्थे आज्ञा

• फणिश्रेष्ठ: O best of serpents
• फणिश्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फणि + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक); संबोधन-समास
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन-प्रथमा (vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (फणिनां श्रेष्ठः)

• शुचिः: pure
• शुचिः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण

• प्रयतमांसनः: one whose mind is disciplined
• प्रयतमांसनः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रयत + मानस (प्रातिपदिक); बहुव्रीहि
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (प्रयतं मानसं यस्य सः) कर्तृविशेषण

Speakers

• Śiva instructing the nāga

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Śiva

Key Themes

• Pitṛ-pūjā / Śrāddha
• Ritual efficacy
• Purity and mental discipline

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Ritual acts are not depicted as mechanical; śuci (purity) and prayata-mānasa (disciplined mind) are prerequisites, stressing inner disposition alongside outer rite.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Not a cosmological lakṣaṇa; it is dharma-upadeśa embedded in Ānucarita—Purāṇas frequently interleave ritual guidance within stories.

What is the esoteric significance?

The ‘middle piṇḍa’ can be read symbolically as the madhya (central) channel/center: transformation occurs when the practitioner internalizes the offering—turning rite into inner assimilation.