Srimad Bhagavatam — Chaturtha Skandha, Shloka 18
Pṛthu Mahārāja Milks the Earth (Bhūmi-dugdha) and Organizes Human Settlement
वत्सेन पितरोऽर्यम्णा कव्यं क्षीरमधुक्षत । आमपात्रे महाभागा: श्रद्धया श्राद्धदेवता: ॥ १८ ॥
vatsena pitaro ’ryamṇā kavyaṁ kṣīram adhukṣata āma-pātre mahā-bhāgāḥ śraddhayā śrāddha-devatāḥ
เหล่าปิตฤแห่งปิตฤโลก ผู้เป็นเทวะแห่งศราทธะ ทำอรยมะเป็นลูกโค แล้วด้วยศรัทธาได้รีด “น้ำนม” คือกัวยะ—อาหารบูชาแด่บรรพชน—ลงในภาชนะดินดิบที่ยังไม่เผา
In Bhagavad-gītā (9.25) it is said, pitṝn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ. Those who are interested in family welfare are called pitṛ-vratāḥ. There is a planet called Pitṛloka, and the predominating deity of that planet is called Aryamā. He is somewhat of a demigod, and by satisfying him one can help ghostly family members develop a gross body. Those who are very sinful and attached to their family, house, village or country do not receive a gross body made of material elements but remain in a subtle body, composed of mind, ego and intelligence. Those who live in such subtle bodies are called ghosts. This ghostly position is very painful because a ghost has intelligence, mind and ego and wants to enjoy material life, but because he doesn’t have a gross material body, he can only create disturbances for want of material satisfaction. It is the duty of family members, especially the son, to offer oblations to the demigod Aryamā or to Lord Viṣṇu. From time immemorial in India, the son of a dead man goes to Gayā and, at a Viṣṇu temple there, offers oblations for the benefit of his ghostly father. It is not that everyone’s father becomes a ghost, but the oblations of piṇḍa are offered to the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu so that if a family member happens to become a ghost, he will be favored with a gross body. However, if one is habituated to taking the prasāda of Lord Viṣṇu, there is no chance of his becoming a ghost or anything lower than a human being. In Vedic civilization there is a performance called śrāddha by which food is offered with faith and devotion. If one offers oblations with faith and devotion — either to the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu or to His representative in Pitṛloka, Aryamā — one’s forefathers will attain material bodies to enjoy whatever material enjoyment is due them. In other words, they do not have to become ghosts.
FAQs
This verse shows that the Pitṛs are honored through kavya (ancestral offerings) performed with śraddhā (faith), and that such rites are overseen by specific śrāddha-devatās.
Aryamā is a divine authority connected with the Pitṛs; here he functions as the ‘calf’ in the Earth-milking episode, enabling the Pitṛs to draw their proper share—kavya—from the Earth.
Maintain gratitude and responsibility toward one’s lineage—through remembrance, acts of charity, and sincere devotional offerings—done with faith and purity of intent, rather than mere ritualism.