Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 31, Shloka 38
Adhyaya 31 — Naimittika and Related Śrāddha Rites: Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, Eligibility, Timing, and Procedure
एकैकं वा पितॄणाञ्च देवानाञ्च स्वशक्तितः । तथा मातामहानाञ्च तुल्यं वा वैश्वदेविकम् ॥
ekaikaṃ vā pitṝṇāñ ca devānāñ ca svaśaktitaḥ / tathā mātāmahānāñ ca tulyaṃ vā vaiśvadevikam
தகுதியின்படி பித்ருக்களுக்கும் தேவர்களுக்கும் தனித்தனியாகத் தலா ஒரு படையலைச் செய்ய வேண்டும்; அதுபோல மாதாமஹர்களுக்கும். அல்லது அனைவரையும் ஒருங்கிணைக்கும் சமமான ஒரே வைஶ்வதேவ ஹவிசை ஒருமுறை நடத்தலாம்.
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FAQs
Dharma is to be practiced with sincerity and proportionality: the text explicitly allows ritual performance ‘according to capacity’ (svaśaktitaḥ), emphasizing intention and regularity over extravagance, while still honoring Devas, Pitṛs, and maternal lineage.
Primarily ‘Vṛtti/Ācāra’ material (practical dharma) rather than the five classical topics; within Purāṇic classification it aligns most closely with guidance that supports ‘Manvantara’ social order (dharma in human life), though it is not narrating a Manvantara event.
Balancing separate offerings versus a unified Vaiśvadeva can symbolize integrating one’s obligations (ṛṇa)—to gods and ancestors—into a single harmonized sacrificial intention, reflecting inner unification of duties.