Shloka 22

Devanagari script

मन्त्रपूर्वं पितॄणां तु कुर्याद् आवाहनं बुधः तिलाम्बुना चापसव्यं दद्याद् अर्घ्यादिकं नृप

Transliteration

mantrapūrvaṃ pitṝṇāṃ tu kuryād āvāhanaṃ budhaḥ tilāmbunā cāpasavyaṃ dadyād arghyādikaṃ nṛpa

Translation

ఓ రాజా! జ్ఞాని ముందుగా మంత్రపూర్వకంగా పితృదేవతలను ఆహ్వానించి, తరువాత తిలమిశ్రిత జలంతో అపసవ్య విధానంలో అర్ఘ్యాది సమర్పించాలి।

Word by Word

• मन्त्रपूर्वम्: preceded by mantras
• मन्त्रपूर्वम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मन्त्र + पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समासः; अव्यय (adverb): ‘मन्त्रपूर्वम्’ = मन्त्रेण पूर्वम्/मन्त्रपूर्वकं

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle (Nipāta)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक-अव्यय (particle)

• कुर्यात्: should perform
• कुर्यात्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• आवाहनम्: invocation
• आवाहनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आ + वह् (धातु) → आवाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• बुधः: the wise man
• बुधः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तिलाम्बुना: with sesame-water
• तिलाम्बुना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल + अम्बु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तिलयुक्तम् अम्बु)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• अपसव्यम्: in the apasavya manner
• अपसव्यम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अप + सव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘अपसव्यम्’ = अपसव्यभावेन

• दद्यात्: should offer
• दद्यात्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• अर्घ्यादिकम्: arghya and the like (offerings)
• अर्घ्यादिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्घ्य + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (अर्घ्यं आदिः यस्य/अर्घ्यादि)

• नृप: O king
• नृप: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya; with an address ‘O King’ reflecting the purāṇic instructional style)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Mantra-based invocation of pitṛs and arghya with tilāmbu in apasavya mode (addressed to a king within the narrative)

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative and king-instructing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Mantra and proper substance (sesame-water) sacralize offerings to pitṛs, converting familial obligation into a purifying act.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Pair remembrance with disciplined practice—recite prayers, perform charity/food-giving on remembrance days, and cultivate gratitude.

Vishishtadvaita: Ritual action as śeṣa-bhāva: even pitṛ-tarpaṇa is ultimately under the Lord’s ordinance, integrating worldly bonds into God-centered duty.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Pitrs (ancestors)
• King (nṛpa)

FAQs

What is the significance of offering sesame-water (tilāmbu/tilodaka) in the Vishnu Purana’s Śrāddha instructions?

This verse prescribes sesame-water as the medium for arghya and related offerings to the Pitṛs, marking the rite as specifically ancestral and traditionally purificatory and sustaining for the departed.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the proper sequence of a Pitṛ rite here?

He gives a clear order: first invoke the ancestors with mantras (āvāhana), then perform the offerings—arghya and others—using sesame-water in the apasavya mode.

What is the theological importance of this ritual context in a Vaishnava Purana?

By framing ancestral duty as dharma, the text situates household rites within the wider maintenance of ṛta (universal order), ultimately upheld by Vishnu as sovereign sustainer of cosmic and social harmony.