Shloka 128

Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa

Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results

Devanagari script

भगोस्तु पुत्रा: सप्तासन्‌ सर्वे तुल्या भगोर्गुणै: । च्यवनो वज्शीर्षश्न॒ शुचिरौर्वस्तथैव च

Transliteration

bhagos tu putrāḥ saptāsan sarve tulyā bhagor guṇaiḥ | cyavano vajraśīrṣaś ca śuciḥ aurvas tathaiva ca śukro vareṇyaḥ savanaś caiva saptaite bhṛgavaḥ smṛtāḥ | sarve bhṛgava-vaṁśyāś ca sāmānyato vāruṇāḥ smṛtāḥ yasmin vaṁśe tvam apy utpannaḥ ||

Translation

वसिष्ठ उवाच—भगस्य पुत्राः सप्तासन् सर्वे तुल्या भगस्य गुणैः। च्यवनो वज्रशीर्षश्च शुचिरौर्वस्तथैव च, शुक्रो वरेण्यः सवनश्च—एते सप्त स्मृताः। भार्गववंशजाः सर्वे सामान्यतः ‘वारुणा’ इति कथ्यन्ते; तस्मिन्नेव वंशे त्वमपि जातः।

Word by Word

• {'bhagaḥ': 'Bhaga

• a revered figure (here, the father of the seven sons)', 'putrāḥ': 'sons', 'sapta': 'seven', 'āsan': "were (past plural of √as, 'to be')", 'sarve': 'all', 'tulyāḥ': 'equal, comparable', 'guṇaiḥ': 'with virtues/qualities (instrumental plural of guṇa)', 'smṛtāḥ': 'are remembered/are traditionally known', 'vaṁśyaḥ': 'belonging to a lineage', 'sāmānyataḥ': 'generally, in common usage', 'vāruṇāḥ': 'those connected with Varuṇa

• a common appellation for the Bhṛgu lineage here', 'yasmin vaṁśe': 'in which lineage', 'tvam api': 'you also', 'utpannaḥ': 'born, arisen'}

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Bhaga
• Cyavana
• Vajraśīrṣa
• Śuci
• Aurva
• Śukra
• Vareṇya
• Savana
• Bhṛgu lineage (Bhṛgava/Bhārgava)
• Varuṇa (via the epithet Vāruṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the ethical and cultural weight of lineage: noble qualities (guṇas) are highlighted as the true measure of descent, and traditional appellations (like ‘Vāruṇa’ for the Bhṛgus) preserve communal memory and identity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasiṣṭha is recounting a genealogical tradition: he lists Bhaga’s seven sons—identified with the Bhṛgu line—and notes that members of this lineage are commonly called Vāruṇas, linking the listener’s own birth to that respected ancestral line.