Shloka 27

Mahābhārata-saṅkṣepa and Avatāra-kāraṇa

Brahmā’s Synopsis of the Epic and the Logic of Divine Descents

Devanagari script

उक्त्वा धर्मान्बहुविधांस्तर्पयित्वा पितॄन्बहून् / आनन्दे तु पदे लीनो विमले मुक्तकिल्बिषे

Transliteration

uktvā dharmānbahuvidhāṃstarpayitvā pitṝnbahūn / ānande tu pade līno vimale muktakilbiṣe

Translation

ครั้นกล่าวสั่งสอนธรรมะนานาประการ และบำรุงบรรพชน (ปิตฤ) ให้ยินดีแล้ว เขาก็หลอมรวมสู่ภาวะแห่งปีติอันบริสุทธิ์—ผ่องใส ไร้บาป และพ้นมลทิน

Word by Word

• uktvā: having spoken
• uktvā: Pūrvakāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः

• dharmān: duties, righteous principles
• dharmān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचनम्

• bahuvidhān: of many kinds
• bahuvidhān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahuvidha (प्रातिपदिक; bahu+vidha)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचनम्; कर्मधारयः; विशेषणम् (dharmān)

• tarpayitvā: having satisfied (offered oblations to)
• tarpayitvā: Pūrvakāla (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tṛp (तृप्) (causative: तर्पयति)
• Form: णिच्-प्रेरण (causative) + क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः

• pitṝn: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• pitṝn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचनम्

• bahūn: many
• bahūn: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम् (pitṝn)

• ānande: in bliss
• ānande: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचनम्

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वयार्थक-निपातः (particle: but/indeed)

• pade: in the state/abode
• pade: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचनम्

• līnaḥ: merged, absorbed
• līnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: līna (कृदन्त; √lī (ली) ‘to adhere/merge’, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; (भिष्मः) इति कर्तरि विशेषणम्

• vimale: pure
• vimale: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vimala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (pade)

• muktakilbiṣe: free from sin
• muktakilbiṣe: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukta (कृदन्त; √muc (मुच्), क्त) + kilbiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (किल्बिषात् मुक्तम्) विशेषणम् (pade)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu (in dialogue to Garuda/Vinata-putra)

Shraddha Ritual

Beneficiary: Pitr

Timing: General pitṛ-tarpaṇa context (not a dated śrāddha specification)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Dharma-upadeśa and pitṛ-tarpaṇa purify; freedom from kṛta-kilbiṣa (sin) enables entry into ānanda-pada (blissful state).

Vedantic Theme: Śuddhi (purification) leading to brahma-niṣṭhā; karma and devotion as preparatory means culminating in absorption (laya) in the pure state.

Application: Integrate ethical instruction, gratitude to lineage, and inner purification; make amends, teach what you know, and complete obligations before major transitions.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Geographic Context

Type: liminal deathbed/teaching-seat

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana (Pretakalpa/Śrāddha sections elsewhere) on tarpaṇa and pitṛ-satisfaction; here echoed in Bhīṣma narrative

Characters & Entities

• Pitris

FAQs

What is the importance of Pitri-tarpana in the Garuda Purana?

This verse links the act of satisfying the Pitṛs (tarpayitvā pitṝn) with purification and the accumulation of merit that supports a soul’s movement toward a stainless, blissful state.

How does this verse explain the path of the soul?

It presents a dharma-centered trajectory: teaching and practicing righteous duties, honoring ancestors through tarpana, and thereby becoming ‘muktakilbiṣa’ (freed from sin), culminating in absorption into a blissful, pure state.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Live and share dharmic principles, and observe ancestral rites (e.g., tarpana/śrāddha) with sincerity—treating them as disciplines for ethical living, gratitude, and inner purification.