Shloka 91

Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa

Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results

Devanagari script

लक्षणानि स्वरा: स्तोभा निरुक्तं सुरपद्धक्तय: । ओड्कारकश्नावसन्नेत्रे निग्रहप्रग्रहौ तथा

Transliteration

lakṣaṇāni svarāḥ stobhā niruktaṃ surapaddhaktayaḥ | oḍkārakaśnāvasa-nnetre nigraha-pragrahau tathā | vedāṅge lakṣaṇam, udātta-ādi svara, stotra, nirukta, surapaṅkti, oṃkāra tathā yajñasya netra-svarūpau pragraha-nigrahau api tasmin sthāne sthitāḥ

Translation

Васиштха сказал: «Там присутствовали все дисциплины и составные части, поддерживающие Веду: фонетические знаки и ударения, ритуальные песнопения с их припевами, и наука этимологии; священная последовательность божественных гимнов; слог Оṃ; а также “сдерживание” и “освобождение”, что служат самыми очами жертвоприношения. В том месте был утверждён весь строй ведического порядка».

Word by Word

• लक्षणानि: characteristics/marks (ancillary topics)
• लक्षणानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्षण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• स्वराः: Vedic accents/tones
• स्वराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• स्तोभाः: Sāman interjections/chanting syllables
• स्तोभाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तोभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निरुक्तम्: etymology/‘Nirukta’ (Vedāṅga)
• निरुक्तम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: निरुक्त
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• सुरपद्धक्तयः: rows/lines of gods
• सुरपद्धक्तयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुरपद्धक्ति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• ओड्कारकश्नावसन्नेत्रे: in (the place of) oṃkāra, śnāva, and the ‘eye’ (of sacrifice)
• ओड्कारकश्नावसन्नेत्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ओंकारक-श्नाव-सन्-नेत्र
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• निग्रहः: restraint/‘nigraha’ (phonetic hold)
• निग्रहः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: निग्रह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रग्रहः: release/‘pragraha’ (phonetic separation)
• प्रग्रहः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रग्रह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• तथा: also/likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Veda
• Oṃ (Oṃkāra)
• Nirukta
• Vedic accents (udātta etc.)
• Yajña (sacrifice)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that dharma in the Vedic sense is sustained by disciplined transmission—correct accents, regulated chanting, interpretive science (nirukta), and the sanctifying presence of Oṃ. Ethical order is linked to precision and restraint in sacred practice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasiṣṭha describes a setting where the full ‘Vedic apparatus’ is present—technical features of recitation and ritual (accents, stobhas, nirukta, Oṃ, and the regulating principles of nigraha and pragraha), portraying the place as established in Vedic order and sacrificial propriety.