Shloka 27
प्रतिग्रहभेदः — The Distinction between Giving and Accepting
Vṛṣādarbhī–Saptarṣi Dialogue
देवास्तु पितरो नाम निर्मिता ये स्वयम्भुवा । उष्णपा ये महाभागास्तेषां भाग: प्रकल्पित:
devāstu pitaro nāma nirmitā ye svayambhuvā | uṣṇapā ye mahābhāgāsteṣāṃ bhāgaḥ prakalpitaḥ ||
भीष्म उवाच—देवास्तु पितरो नाम स्वयम्भुवा विनिर्मिताः; उष्णपा इति ते महाभागाः, तेषां श्राद्धे भागः प्रकल्पितः।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That honoring the Pitṛs through śrāddha is not optional sentiment but a dharmically authorized obligation: the Creator himself has assigned the Pitṛs their rightful share in offerings.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he identifies a class of beings called the Pitṛs—also termed Uṣṇapā—and explains their divine origin and their formally prescribed portion in śrāddha rites.