Shloka 15
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
आर्चिष्मन्तो बर्हिषद: कव्यादा: पितरस्तथा । मृतस्याप्यनुमन्यन्ते मन्त्रान् मन्त्राश्ष कारणम्
arcīṣmanto barhiṣadaḥ kavyādāḥ pitaras tathā | mṛtasyāpy anumanyante mantrān mantrāś ca kāraṇam ||
कपिल उवाच—आर्चिष्मन्तो बर्हिषदः कव्यादाश्च पितरस्तथा। मृतस्याप्यनुमन्यन्ते मन्त्रान्, मन्त्राः कारणं धर्मस्य धारकाः॥
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
That mantras are a fundamental support of dharma and ritual order, and that ancestral beings (Pitṛs) are understood to sanction mantra-recitation performed for the welfare of the deceased.
Kapila is explaining the ritual-ethical framework of ancestral rites: specific classes of Pitṛs—Arcīṣmantaḥ, Barhiṣadaḥ, and Kavyādāḥ—are said to approve the use of mantras even when the intended beneficiary is a dead person, underscoring the legitimacy and efficacy of such rites.