Shloka 28
Tīrtha-yātrā: Phalaśruti and Sacred Geography from Lohitya to Prayāga
Pulastya’s Instruction
पूरयित्वा नरव्यात्र रुधिरेणेति विश्रुतम् । पितरस्तर्पिता: सर्वे तथैव प्रपितामहा:,पुरुषसिंह! उन कुण्डोंको उन्होंने रक्तसे भर दिया था, ऐसा सुना जाता है। उसी रक्तसे परशुरामजीने अपने पितरों और प्रपितामहोंका तर्पण किया
pūrayitvā naravyātra rudhireṇeti viśrutam | pitaras tarpitāḥ sarve tathaiva prapitāmahāḥ puruṣasiṃha |
Disse Ghūlastya: “É bem conhecido que ele encheu aquelas covas com o sangue dos homens. Com esse mesmo sangue, Paraśurāma realizou o tarpaṇa, o rito de libação, satisfazendo todos os seus antepassados — tanto os pais quanto os mais antigos, os bisavós. Ó leão entre os homens!”
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between ritual duty (tarpaṇa to ancestors) and the moral cost of violence: even acts framed as religious offerings can become ethically troubling when fueled by vengeance and bloodshed.
The speaker reports a famed tradition: Paraśurāma filled pits with the blood of slain men and then used that blood to perform ancestral libations, thereby ‘satisfying’ his forefathers and great-forefathers.