Mahabharata 11.1.8 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 1, Shloka 8

स्त्रीपर्व १: धृतराष्ट्रशोकः संजयाश्वासनं च

Strī Parva 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Saṃjaya’s Consolation

Devanagari script

पितृणां पुत्रपौत्राणां ज्ञातीनां सुहृदां तथा । गुरूणां चानुपूर्व्येण प्रेतकार्याणि कारय,“राजन! अब आप क्रमशः अपने चाचा, ताऊ, पुत्र, पौत्र, भाई-बन्धु, सुहृद्‌ तथा गुरुजनोंके प्रेतकार्य सम्पन्न कराइये”

Transliteration

pitṝṇāṁ putrapautrāṇāṁ jñātīnāṁ suhṛdāṁ tathā | gurūṇāṁ cānupūrvyena pretakāryāṇi kāraya ||

Translation

वैशम्पायन म्हणाले—हे राजन्! पितर, पुत्र-पौत्र, ज्ञातीजन, सुहृद आणि गुरुजन यांचे प्रेतकार्य योग्य क्रमाने करवून घ्या.

Word by Word

• पितृणाम्: of the fathers/forefathers
• पितृणाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• पुत्र: of the sons
• पुत्र: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• पौत्राणाम्: of the grandsons
• पौत्राणाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पौत्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• ज्ञातीनाम्: of the kinsmen/relatives
• ज्ञातीनाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ज्ञाति
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• सुहृदाम्: of the well-wishers/friends
• सुहृदाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुहृद्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• तथा: and also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• गुरूणाम्: of the elders/teachers
• गुरूणाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अनुपूर्व्येण: in due order/sequence
• अनुपूर्व्येण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुपूर्व्य
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रेतकार्याणि: funeral rites (rites for the departed)
• प्रेतकार्याणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेतकार्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• कारय: cause (them) to be performed / have (them) done
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (णिच्)
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• the King (rājan, addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid overwhelming grief and moral shock after war, dharma requires honoring the dead through proper funerary rites. Performing preta-kārya in due order affirms gratitude, responsibility, and the restoration of ethical and social balance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana instructs the king to arrange the funerary rites sequentially for all categories of the departed—ancestors, descendants, relatives, friends, and teachers—reflecting the immediate post-war obligations in the Strī Parva context.