Shloka 24
Āloka-dāna (Dīpa-dāna), Sumanas–Dhūpa–Dīpa Phala: Manu–Suvarṇa and Śukra–Bali Exempla
यज्ञियानां च वृक्षाणामयज्ञीयान् निबोध मे । आसुराणि च माल्यानि दैवतेभ्यो हितानि च
yajñiyānāṁ ca vṛkṣāṇām ayajñīyān nibodha me | āsurāṇi ca mālyāni daivatebhyo hitāni ca
ศุกระกล่าวว่า “จงเรียนรู้จากเราว่าไม้ชนิดใดเหมาะแก่พิธียัญ และชนิดใดไม่เหมาะ. อีกทั้งจงเข้าใจด้วยว่า พวงมาลัยชนิดใดนับว่าเป็น ‘อาสุริก’ และชนิดใดเป็นสิริมงคล เหมาะแก่การถวายแด่เทพทั้งหลาย.”
शुक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Śukra emphasizes discernment in ritual practice: not all natural items are equally appropriate for sacred use. Dharma in worship includes choosing materials that are considered pure, beneficial, and fitting for the deities, while avoiding those regarded as ritually improper or ‘āsuric’ in disposition.
Śukra is instructing his listener in practical religious conduct. He introduces a classification: (1) trees suitable or unsuitable for sacrificial rites, and (2) garlands that are inappropriate (‘āsuric’) versus those that are beneficial and proper for divine offerings.