Shloka 9

Śrāddha’s Cosmic Reach and Kāla-Nirṇaya (Sacred Timings): Amāvāsyā, Nakṣatra-Yoga, Tīrtha, and Minimum Offerings

Devanagari script

वासवाजैकपादर्क्षे पितॄणां तृप्तिम् इच्छताम् वारुणे चाप्य् अमावास्या देवानाम् अपि दुर्लभा

Transliteration

vāsavājaikapādarkṣe pitṝṇāṃ tṛptim icchatām vāruṇe cāpy amāvāsyā devānām api durlabhā

Translation

Apabila rasi ialah Vāsava, Āja atau Eka-pāda, mereka yang menginginkan kepuasan Pitṛ akan memperolehnya; dan apabila rasi ialah Vāruṇa, hari Amāvāsyā menjadi begitu jarang dan berkuasa sehingga para dewa pun sukar mendapatinya.

Word by Word

• वासवाजैकपादर्क्षे: in the asterism (nakṣatra) Vāsavaja–Ekapāda
• वासवाजैकपादर्क्षे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासवाज (प्रातिपदिक) + एकपाद (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्क्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); द्वन्द्व-समास (copulative: 'Vāsavaja and Ekapāda' + 'arkṣe')

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Possessive/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तृप्तिम्: satisfaction
• तृप्तिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृप्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• इच्छताम्: of those desiring
• इच्छताम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इष्/इच्छ् (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमानकर्तरि कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• वारुणे: in (the nakṣatra) Vāruṇa
• वारुणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक-अव्यय (conjunction: 'and')

• अपि: also, even
• अपि: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (particle: 'also/even')

• अमावास्या: new-moon day
• अमावास्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमावास्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• देवानाम्: of the gods
• देवानाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Possessive/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावना/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (particle: 'also/even')

• दुर्लभा: rare, hard to obtain
• दुर्लभा: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Certain amāvāsyā-nakṣatra combinations are extraordinarily rare and efficacious, underscoring dharma as alignment with sacred time and prescribed rite.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Treat ritual calendars as supports for discipline: choose key observance days for remembrance, charity, and restraint.

Vishishtadvaita: The ‘rarity’ of sacred conjunctions highlights dependence on Bhagavān’s cosmic administration; human effort bears fruit when harmonized with that order.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (Ancestors)
• Devas (Gods)
• Indra (Vāsava)
• Varuṇa (Vāruṇa)

FAQs

What is the significance of Amāvāsyā in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights Amāvāsyā—especially when joined with the Vāruṇa nakṣatra—as exceptionally efficacious for rites that nourish the Pitṛs, a potency described as rare even among the gods.

How does Sage Parāśara explain choosing the right time for Pitṛ rites?

He ties the success of Pitṛ-satisfaction to specific nakṣatras (Vāsava, Āja, Eka-pāda) and elevates the Amāvāsyā under Vāruṇa as a uniquely auspicious convergence in the ritual calendar.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even in ritual instruction, the Purāṇa frames dharma as participation in a divinely ordered cosmos—where time (tithi/nakṣatra) functions under the supreme governance that Vaishnava tradition ultimately attributes to Vishnu.