Shloka 81

Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda

Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity

Devanagari script

अमावास्यां तु ये मर्त्या: प्रयच्छन्ति तिलोदकम्‌

Transliteration

amāvāsyāṃ tu ye martyāḥ prayacchanti tilodakam, tapodhana! yo manuṣya amāvāsyāke dina tāṃbeke pātrameṃ madhu evaṃ tilase miśrita jala lekara usake dvārā pitr̥roṃkā tarpaṇa karate haiṃ, unake dvārā rahasyasahita śrāddhakarma yathārtharūpase sampādita ho jātā hai

Translation

ശക്രൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“തപോധനേ! അമാവാസിദിനത്തിൽ എള്ളുകലർന്ന ജലം അർപ്പിക്കുന്നവർ—ചെമ്പുപാത്രത്തിൽ തേനും എള്ളും കലർത്തിയ ജലം എടുത്ത് പിതൃകൾക്ക് തർപ്പണം ചെയ്യുന്നവർ—അവരുടെ ശ്രാദ്ധകർമ്മം രഹസ്യസഹിതം, വിധിപൂർവ്വം, യഥാർത്ഥമായി സമാപിക്കുന്നു।”

Word by Word

• अमावास्याम्: on the new-moon day
• अमावास्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमावास्या
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मर्त्याः: mortals/men
• मर्त्याः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रयच्छन्ति: give/offer
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-यम् (यच्छति)
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• तिलोदकम्: water with sesame (sesame-water offering)
• तिलोदकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल + उदक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तपोधन: O ascetic rich in austerity
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपोधन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

शक्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Tapodhana (addressed ascetic/sage)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Amāvāsyā (new-moon day)
• Tilodaka (sesame-water offering)
• Copper vessel (tāmra-pātra)
• Honey (madhu)
• Sesame (tila)
• Śrāddha (ancestral rite)
• Tarpaṇa (libation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches pitṛ-dharma: honoring one’s ancestors through properly timed and properly prepared offerings (tilodaka on amāvāsyā) is a valid and meritorious way to complete śrāddha according to prescribed observances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śakra (Indra) instructs an ascetic (addressed as tapodhana) about the efficacy of performing ancestral libations on the new-moon day, specifying sesame-water (with honey and sesame in a copper vessel) as a means by which the śrāddha rite is duly fulfilled.