Shloka 16
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
0/ जे ; कं गम तमुत्थितमहं दृष्टवा परं विस्मयमागमम् | प्रतिग्रहीता साक्षान्मे पितेति भरतर्षभ
yaḥ kaṃ gām tam utthitam ahaṃ dṛṣṭvā paraṃ vismayam āgamam | pratigrahītā sākṣān me pitā iti bharatarṣabha ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Tatkala aku melihat baginda bangkit dan mendekat, aku dilanda kehairanan yang paling besar. Kerana orang yang menerima persembahan itu sendiri menyatakan kepadaku dengan jelas, ‘Akulah ayahmu,’ wahai banteng keturunan Bharata.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and ritual weight of ‘pratigraha’ (accepting an offering) and the authority of lineage: a direct revelation of one’s father underscores how dharma is transmitted through ancestral bonds and sanctioned acts.
Bhīṣma recounts a moment of intense wonder: he sees a figure rise and approach, and that very recipient of an offering identifies himself unmistakably as Bhīṣma’s father, addressed to the listener as ‘Bharatarṣabha’ (best of the Bharatas).