Shloka 20
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
कस्माद्धि मैथुन श्राद्धे दातुर्भोक्तुश्च वर्जितम् । किमर्थ च त्रय: पिण्डा: प्रविभक्ता: पृथक् पृथक्
bhīṣma uvāca |
kasmāddhi maithunaśrāddhe dāturbhoktuśca varjitam |
kimarthaṃ ca trayaḥ piṇḍāḥ pravibhaktāḥ pṛthak pṛthak |
Bhīṣma disse: “Por que, de fato, o ato sexual é proibido no dia do śrāddha, tanto para quem o oferece quanto para o brâmane que come a refeição ritual? E com que finalidade se repartem, separadamente e uma a uma, três oferendas de piṇḍa?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: śrāddha is treated as a solemn, purity-centered ancestral rite, so the text asks for the rationale behind prohibiting maithuna for both host and officiating/feeding Brahmin, and for the doctrinal meaning of offering three distinct piṇḍas.
Bhishma, in his instructional discourse on dharma and rites, raises a specific question about śrāddha procedure—seeking reasons for (1) the ban on sexual activity on the śrāddha day for the performer and the Brahmin who eats, and (2) the practice of giving three separate piṇḍa offerings.