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 disse: “Quando o vi erguer-se e aproximar-se, fui tomado do maior assombro. Pois o próprio que aceitou a oferenda declarou-me claramente: ‘Eu sou teu pai’, ó touro entre os Bharatas.”
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).