Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 131 Shloka 24 - Mahabharata | Tamil | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 24

Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline

Devanagari script

धर्म उवाच राजपौरुषिके विप्रे घाण्टिके परिचारिके । गोरक्षके वाणिजके तथा कारुकुशीलवे

Transliteration

dharma uvāca rājapauruṣike vipre ghāṇṭike paricārike | gorakṣake vāṇijake tathā kārukuśīlave, piṇḍadāstasya hīyante na ca prīṇāti vai pitṝn |

Translation

தர்மன் கூறினார்—ஓ பிராமணனே! அரசுப் பணியால் வாழ்பவன், கூலிக்காக மணி அடிப்பவன், பிறருக்கு அடிமைப் பணியாற்றுபவன், மாடுபாசனம் செய்வவன், வாணிகன், கைவினைஞன் அல்லது நாடகக் கலைஞன்—இவர்களுக்கு பிண்டம் அளிப்பவனின் புண்ணியம் குறையும்; பித்ருக்களும் திருப்தியடையார்.

Word by Word

धर्मःDharma (personified)

उवाचsaid

राजपौरुषिकेin/with one who is a king's servant/retainer

विप्रेin/with a brahmin

घाण्टिकेin/with a bell-ringer

परिचारिकेin/with an attendant/servant

गोरक्षकेin/with a cowherd/cattle-keeper

वाणिजकेin/with a trader/merchant

तथाand likewise

कारुकुशीलवेin/with an artisan and an actor/bard

पिण्डदाःgivers of piṇḍa (funeral offering)

तस्यof him/of that (such a person)

हीयन्तेdecline / suffer loss

नnot

चand

प्रीणातिsatisfies/pleases

वैindeed

पितॄन्the ancestors (pitṛs)

Speaker

धर्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dharma

vipra (brāhmaṇa)

pitṛs (ancestors)

piṇḍa (śrāddha offering)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the efficacy of ancestral offerings (piṇḍa/śrāddha) depends not only on the giver’s intent but also on the ritual fitness of the recipient; giving śrāddha offerings to certain livelihood-groups is said to diminish the giver’s merit and fail to satisfy the ancestors.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dharma is laying down prescriptive norms for pitṛ-kārya (ancestral rites) within a broader Anuśāsana-parvan discussion on dharma, specifying categories of people to whom śrāddha offerings should not be given, and stating the negative consequence for the giver and the pitṛs.