Shloka 42
Dietary Rules & Purification — Dietary Rules, Purification (Śauca), and the Duties of the Householder and Forest-Dweller
प्रेताय सलिलं देयं बहिर्दग्ध्वा तु गोत्रजैः प्रमे ऽह्नि चतुर्थे वा सप्तमे वास्थिसंचयम्
pretāya salilaṃ deyaṃ bahirdagdhvā tu gotrajaiḥ prame 'hni caturthe vā saptame vāsthisaṃcayam
พึงถวายสายน้ำแก่เปรต ครั้นเผาศพนอกชุมชนแล้ว ญาติร่วมโคตรพึงเก็บอัฐิในวันรุ่งขึ้น หรือวันที่สี่ หรือวันที่เจ็ด
{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse frames death-rites as a duty of kinship: care for the departed continues beyond cremation through water-offerings and orderly observances, reinforcing gratitude, continuity of family obligations, and social responsibility.
It aligns best with ācāra/dharma material (ritual prescription) rather than the five classic purāṇic topics; within pancalakṣaṇa mapping it is ancillary dharma-vidhi, not sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita/manvantara.
Water (salila) symbolizes ongoing support and transition for the preta; the timed bone-collection ritualizes the community’s gradual return from death-impurity to ordered life while honoring the liminal passage of the deceased.