Shloka 29
Śrī Rāmacandra-avatāra — Vow, Exile, Laṅkā-vijaya, and Rāma-rājya
Concise Bhāgavata Account
श्रीशुक उवाच स्वानां विभीषणश्चक्रे कोसलेन्द्रानुमोदित: । पितृमेधविधानेन यदुक्तं साम्परायिकम् ॥ २९ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca svānāṁ vibhīṣaṇaś cakre kosalendrānumoditaḥ pitṛ-medha-vidhānena yad uktaṁ sāmparāyikam
Sri Sukadeva Gosvami berkata: Vibhisana, dengan persetujuan Raja Kosala (Rama), melakukan upacara pemakaman yang ditetapkan untuk keluarganya bagi menyelamatkan mereka dari neraka.
After giving up the body, one is transferred to another body, but sometimes, if one is too sinful, he is checked from transmigrating to another body, and thus he becomes a ghost. To save a diseased person from ghostly life, the funeral ceremony, or śrāddha ceremony, as prescribed in authorized śāstra, must be performed. Rāvaṇa was killed by Lord Rāmacandra and was destined for hellish life, but by Lord Rāmacandra’s advice, Vibhīṣaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s brother, performed all the duties prescribed in relation to the dead. Thus Lord Rāmacandra was kind to Rāvaṇa even after Rāvaṇa’s death.
FAQs
This verse states that Vibhīṣaṇa performed the śāstra-prescribed ancestral/funeral rites for his departed relatives, indicating such duties are part of dharma and are meant for welfare in the hereafter.
The verse emphasizes that Vibhīṣaṇa acted under the sanction of Kosalendra (Śrī Rāma), showing that righteous governance supports proper dharma even in matters of death rites and ancestral obligations.
Honor dharma by responsibly completing family duties—especially end-of-life obligations—with reverence, compassion, and guidance from authentic tradition, while keeping spiritual welfare (sāmparāyika) in view.