Shloka 45
Adhyaya 3 — The Dharmapakshis’ Past-Life Curse and Indra’s Test of Truthfulness
एवमुक्त्वा तदा सोऽस्मास्तं विहङ्गमथाब्रवीत् ।
अन्त्येष्टिमात्मनः कृत्वा शास्त्रतश्चोर्ध्वदेहिकम् ॥
evam uktvā tadā so ’smās taṃ vihaṅgam athābravīt /
antyeṣṭim ātmanaḥ kṛtvā śāstrataś cordhvadehikam //
ఇలా చెప్పి అతడు ఆ పక్షిని ఉద్దేశించి అన్నాడు—“నీ అంత్యేష్టి (చివరి కర్మలు) నిర్వహించి, శాస్త్రోక్తంగా ఊర్ధ్వదేహిక (శ్రాద్ధాది) కర్మలను విధివిధానంగా ఆచరించి…”
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FAQs
The verse foregrounds śāstra-vidhi in life-cycle rites: even inevitable events like death are to be met with disciplined, inherited duty (dharma). It implies that proper completion of antyeṣṭi and subsequent obsequies is a moral obligation toward the departed and the social-sacral order.
This verse aligns most closely with Vṛtti/Ācāra (practical dharma and conduct) rather than the core pañcalakṣaṇa topics (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). It is part of the Purāṇic didactic layer that supplements cosmology with ritual-ethical instruction.
On an inner reading, “antyeṣṭi” and “ūrdhva-dehika” suggest the disciplined ‘completion’ of a phase and the orderly ‘elevation’ (ūrdhva) of what remains—symbolizing closure, purification, and the careful transition of consciousness and memory through prescribed rites rather than disorderly attachment.