Shloka 38
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
इसी तरह जब ब्राह्मणके यहाँ देवकार्य होता हो, तब उसमें *कारसहित पुण्याहवाचनका विधान है (अर्थात् 'पुण्याहं भवन्तो ब्रुवन्तु--आपलोग पुण्याहवाचन करें' ऐसा यजमानके कहनेपर ब्राह्मणोंको “३० पुण्याहम् ३» पुण्याहम्” इस प्रकार कहना चाहिये)। यही वाक्य क्षत्रियके यहाँ बिना *कारके उच्चारण करना चाहिये ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | evaṃ yadā brāhmaṇasya gṛhe devakāryaṃ bhavati tadā tatra sakāraṃ puṇyāhavācanasya vidhir asti (yajamāne vadati—“puṇyāhaṃ bhavanto bruvantu” iti; brāhmaṇaiḥ “puṇyāham, puṇyāham” iti vaktavyam) | kṣatriyasya tu gṛhe tad eva vākyaṃ akāraṃ vinā uccāraṇīyam || vaiśyasya daive vaktavyaṃ—“prīyantāṃ devatāḥ” iti | karmaṇām ānupūrvyeṇa vidhipūrvaṃ kṛtaṃ śṛṇu ||
Bhishma disse: “Do mesmo modo, quando um brâmane realiza em sua casa um rito para os deuses, deve-se fazer a proclamação formal do ‘dia auspicioso’ (puṇyāha) com a partícula prescrita; quando o patrono do rito pedir: ‘Que os veneráveis proclamem o dia propício’, os brâmanes devem responder: ‘Auspicioso, de fato; auspicioso, de fato.’ Na casa de um kshatriya, a mesma fórmula deve ser proferida sem essa partícula. No rito divino de um vaishya, deve-se dizer: ‘Que as divindades se alegrem.’ Agora ouve, em devida ordem, o procedimento correto, conforme a regra, para os deveres das três ordens.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual speech is part of dharma: the same divine rite begins with prescribed auspicious proclamations, and Bhishma emphasizes that correct formulae and sequence (vidhi, ānupūrvya) matter, with minor variations according to the patron’s varna.
In Bhishma’s instruction on conduct (Anushasana Parva), he details how householders should commence deity-rites: what the patron says, how Brahmins respond with ‘puṇyāham,’ how the Kshatriya usage differs, and what benediction is used in a Vaishya’s rite, before moving on to the ordered procedures for the three varnas.