Shloka 20

Śrāddha Vidhi (Pārvaṇa-Śrāddha): Invitations, Arghya, Protective Rites, Piṇḍa Offering, Dakṣiṇā, and Visarjana

Devanagari script

यथासुखं वाग्यता जुषध्वम् इति ब्रूयात् / बुक्तवत्सु सप्तव्याधादिकं पितृस्तोत्रं जपेत् / तच्च-सप्तव्याधा दशार्णेषु मृगाः कालञ्जरे गिरौ / चक्रवाकाः शराद्वीपे हंसाः सरसि मानसे

Transliteration

yathāsukhaṃ vāgyatā juṣadhvam iti brūyāt / buktavatsu saptavyādhādikaṃ pitṛstotraṃ japet / tacca-saptavyādhā daśārṇeṣu mṛgāḥ kālañjare girau / cakravākāḥ śarādvīpe haṃsāḥ sarasi mānase

Translation

यथासुखं वाग्यता जुषध्वम् इति ब्रूयात्। भुक्तवत्सु अतिथिषु सप्तव्याधादिकं पितृस्तोत्रं जपेत्। तत्र—सप्तव्याधा दशार्णेषु, मृगाः कालञ्जरे गिरौ; चक्रवाकाः शराद्वीपे, हंसाः सरसि मानसे।

Word by Word

• yathā-sukham: comfortably; at ease
• yathā-sukham: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial: 'as is pleasant')

• vāk-yatā: restraint of speech
• vāk-yatā: Karta (Subject/Instructional topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāk (प्रातिपदिक) + yatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वाचः यता)

• juṣadhvam: practice; observe
• juṣadhvam: Kriya
• Type: Verb
• Root: juṣ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्, मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण-निपातः

• brūyāt: one should say
• brūyāt: Kriya
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bhuktavatsu: when they have eaten; among those who have eaten
• bhuktavatsu: Adhikarana (Locative context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhukta-vat (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन; क्तवत्-प्रत्ययान्त (having eaten)

• sapta-vyādha-ādikam: beginning with (the story of) the seven hunters
• sapta-vyādha-ādikam: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या) + vyādha (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + -ka (प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समाहार/निर्देशार्थ तत्पुरुष (सप्तव्याधादि)

• pitṛ-stotram: hymn to the ancestors
• pitṛ-stotram: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + stotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पितॄणां स्तोत्रम्)

• japet: should recite
• japet: Kriya
• Type: Verb
• Root: jap (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tat: that
• tat: Sambandha (Anaphoric)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपातः (conjunction)

• sapta-vyādhāḥ: the seven hunters
• sapta-vyādhāḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: sapta (संख्या) + vyādha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; द्विगु-समास (सप्तसंख्यकाः व्याधाः)

• daśārṇeṣu: in Daśārṇa lands
• daśārṇeṣu: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśārṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन (place-name)

• mṛgāḥ: deer
• mṛgāḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: mṛga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• kālañjare: on Kālañjara
• kālañjare: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: kālañjara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (place-name)

• girau: on the mountain
• girau: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: giri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• cakravākāḥ: cakravāka birds
• cakravākāḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakravāka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• śarādvīpe: in Śarādvīpa
• śarādvīpe: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarādvīpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (place-name)

• haṃsāḥ: swans
• haṃsāḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: haṃsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sarasi: in the lake
• sarasi: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: saras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• mānase: at Mānasa (lake)
• mānase: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (place-name), सप्तमी, एकवचन

Speaker

Lord Viṣṇu (in discourse to Garuḍa/Vinatā-putra, instructing ritual procedure)

Shraddha Ritual

Ritual Type: Parvana

Beneficiary: Pitr

Timing: post-bhojana (after guests have eaten)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Śrāddha is completed not only by feeding but by respectful closure and stotra-recitation that links guests/pitṛs to sacred narrative memory.

Vedantic Theme: Smṛti as a purifier: remembrance (anusmaraṇa) stabilizes dharma and sanctifies action.

Application: After hospitality, formally release guests with kind words; include a brief hymn/recitation to seal the rite and keep ancestral remembrance alive.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: regions/mountain/island/lake

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana Śrāddha-kalpa: post-bhojana procedures and pitṛ-stotra recitation (contextual)

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Sapta-vyādha (seven hunters)
• Daśārṇa
• Kālañjara
• Cakravāka birds
• Śaradvīpa
• Haṁsa (swans)
• Mānasa/Mānasarovar

FAQs

What is the importance of reciting the Pitṛ-stotra after a meal in the Garuḍa Purāṇa?

This verse places Pitṛ-recitation immediately after feeding others, indicating that hospitality and satisfaction of guests is followed by remembrance and propitiation of the ancestors through a prescribed hymn.

How does this verse connect daily conduct with ancestral rites?

It links etiquette—granting guests comfort and free speech—with a structured ritual step: once the meal is completed, the practitioner transitions into Pitṛ-focused japa, integrating social dharma with śrāddha-oriented remembrance.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

After feeding family/guests (or offering food in remembrance), speak kindly and allow ease, then recite a brief Pitṛ-prayer or stotra with intention—making gratitude and ancestral remembrance part of everyday discipline.