Shloka 76
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
दुर्गात् ते तारयिष्यन्ति नरकात् प्रपितामहान् । जो मनुष्य पितरोंमें श्रद्धा रखकर संतान उत्पन्न करेंगे, वे अपने प्रपितामहोंका दुर्गम नरकसे उद्धार कर देंगे ।। पितृणां भाषितं श्रुत्वा हृष्टरोेमा तपोधन:
durgāt te tārayiṣyanti narakāt prapitāmahān | pitṛṇām bhāṣitaṃ śrutvā hṛṣṭaromā tapodhanaḥ ||
शक्र उवाच—दुर्गात् ते तारयिष्यन्ति नरकात् प्रपितामहान्। ये नराः पितृषु श्रद्धां कृत्वा सन्ततिं जनयन्ति, ते स्वान् प्रपितामहान् दुस्तरान्नरकात् समुद्धरिष्यन्ति। पितृणां भाषितं श्रुत्वा हृष्टरोमा तपोधनः।
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Faithful continuation of lineage and reverence toward the Pitṛs is presented as a powerful dharmic act: by begetting offspring with śraddhā for the ancestors, one enables the deliverance of forefathers—even great-grandfathers—from grievous post-mortem suffering.
Indra (Śakra) explains the salvific effect of progeny and ancestral faith: descendants can ‘ferry across’ their ancestors from peril/hell. After hearing this teaching about the Pitṛs, an ascetic (tapodhana) reacts with intense joy and reverence, marked by horripilation.