Shloka 44

Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa

Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results

Devanagari script

तदेवायतन चक्कु: पुण्यं सर्वक्रियास्वपि । ततः प्रभृति चाप्यग्नि: शमीगर्भेषु दृश्यते,ऐसा कहकर शमीके गर्भमें अग्निदेवका दर्शन करके देवताओंने सभी कर्मोंके लिये शमीको ही अग्निका पवित्र स्थान नियत किया। तबसे अग्निदेव शमीके भीतर दृष्टिगोचर होने लगे

Transliteration

tad evāyatanaṃ cakṣuḥ puṇyaṃ sarvakriyāsv api | tataḥ prabhṛti cāpy agniḥ śamīgarbheṣu dṛśyate ||

Translation

భీష్ముడు పలికెను—అదే (శమీ) సమస్త క్రియలలో పవిత్రమైన ఆశ్రయమూ చిహ్నమూ అయింది. అప్పటినుంచి అగ్ని శమీ గర్భాలలో దర్శనమివ్వసాగాడు.

Word by Word

तत्that (very thing)

एवindeed/only

आयतनम्abode/seat/place

चand

अक्षुःeye

पुण्यम्holy/pure/meritorious

सर्वक्रियासुin all rites/actions

अपिalso/even

ततःthereafter/from that

प्रभृतिfrom (that time) onward

चand

अपिalso

अग्निःAgni (fire-god)/fire

शमीगर्भेषुin the wombs/insides of the śamī (tree)

दृश्यतेis seen/appears

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Agni

Shami (śamī tree)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ritual action should be grounded in a pure, sanctioned source: śamī is established as a holy locus for Agni, highlighting dharmic propriety, purity, and the right means in sacred rites.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma recounts that the gods, having perceived Agni within the śamī, designated śamī as Agni’s sacred seat for all ritual acts; thereafter Agni is said to be visible within the śamī’s interior.