Shloka 172
The Five Great Sacrifices: Supremacy of Honoring Parents, Pativrata Dharma, Truthfulness, and Śrāddha
तस्मात्त्वं पितरौ गच्छ कुरु पूजां प्रयत्नतः । ततस्त्वं हितयोरेव प्रसादान्मत्पदं व्रज
tasmāttvaṃ pitarau gaccha kuru pūjāṃ prayatnataḥ | tatastvaṃ hitayoreva prasādānmatpadaṃ vraja
അതുകൊണ്ട് നീ മാതാപിതാക്കളുടെ അടുക്കൽ ചെന്നു പരിശ്രമത്തോടെ അവരുടെ പൂജയും സേവയും ചെയ്യുക. പിന്നെ ആ രണ്ടു ഹിതൈഷികളുടെ പ്രസാദത്താൽ നീ എന്റെ ധാമം പ്രാപിക്കും.
Unspecified (context-dependent admonition within the narrative)
Concept: Worship of parents with sincere effort yields their grace, which becomes a means to attain the Lord’s abode.
Application: Make service tangible: daily acts (care, respectful speech, financial support, time) offered as worship; cultivate gratitude as a spiritual discipline.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: celestial_realm
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"The seeker walks toward his parents with offerings—water for their feet, flowers, and a respectful bow—while behind them a subtle vision of Vaikuṇṭha opens like a luminous doorway, implying that the path to the Lord runs through gratitude and service. The parents’ faces soften, and the air becomes calm, as if the household itself turns into a sanctuary.","primary_figures":["son (dvija)","mother","father","Vishnu (as a distant luminous presence or symbolic Vaikuṇṭha gate)"],"setting":"Āśrama-home threshold transforming into a sacred passage; ritual tray with pādya/arghya, incense, and lamps.","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["warm gold","lotus pink","turmeric yellow","peacock blue","sandalwood beige"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: the youth offering pādya and garlands to seated parents with gold leaf halos; behind them a stylized Vaikuṇṭha arch with Vishnu’s emblematic śaṅkha-cakra motifs; rich reds and greens, ornate jewelry, gem-studded borders, devotional symmetry and radiance.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: tender domestic reconciliation—parents’ expressions melting into blessing; a faint celestial glow in the sky suggesting Vaikuṇṭha; delicate textiles, soft dawn light, lyrical trees and a small shrine corner; refined faces and gentle gestures.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: frontal blessing scene—parents with raised hands in āśīrvāda, the youth in añjali; a luminous doorway motif with conch and discus symbols; bold outlines, natural pigments, dominant yellows/reds/greens, temple-wall compositional balance.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: ornate floral border with lotus and tulasi motifs; central scene of filial worship; above, a Vaikuṇṭha medallion with Vishnu symbols and flying garlands; deep blues with gold highlights, intricate patterning, devotional calm."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"devotional","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"slow-meditative","voice_tone":"reverent-soft","sound_elements":["temple bells","soft conch","incense crackle","morning birds","gentle tanpura drone"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: तस्मात्त्वं = तस्मात् + त्वम्; ततस्त्वं = ततः + त्वम्; प्रसादान्मत्पदं = प्रसादात् + मत् + पदम् (मत्पदम् = मत् + पदम्).
FAQs
It teaches that honoring and serving one’s parents (pitṛ-sevā) is a primary duty (dharma) and a powerful spiritual practice.
It presents parental reverence as a direct cause for divine grace, through which one attains the Lord’s “abode” (mat-pada), i.e., the highest spiritual goal.
The phrase refers to the two parents—mother and father—described as natural well-wishers whose blessing (prasāda) supports one’s spiritual progress.