Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 4
भूमिदान-प्रसङ्गः । काश्यपी-पृथिवी तथा उतथ्य-वरुण-संवादः
Land-gift episode; Pṛthivī Kāśyapī; Utathya–Varuṇa dispute
प्रगृह्मौदुम्बरं पात्र पक््वान्नं मधुना सह | सोमस्योत्तिष्ठमानस्य पौर्णमास्यां बलिं हरेत्
pragṛhya audumbaraṃ pātraṃ pakvānnaṃ madhunā saha | somasya uttiṣṭhamānasya paurṇamāsyāṃ baliṃ haret ||
Wika ni Skanda: “Kumuha ng sisidlang yari sa kahoy na udumbara; sa gabi ng kabilugan ng buwan, sa oras ng pagsikat ng Buwan, ialay bilang bali sa Soma (ang Buwan) ang nilutong pagkain na hinaluan ng pulot. Itinuturo ito bilang isang natatagong dharma: isang payak ngunit taimtim na pagsamba na kaayon ng kaayusang kosmiko, na nagdudulot sa sumasamba ng matatag na kabutihang-loob at nakikibahagi sa pagdami at kagalingang iniuugnay sa Buwan.”
स्कन्द उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ‘secret’ dharma is taught: on the full-moon at moonrise, offer a simple bali of honey-mixed cooked food in an udumbara-wood vessel to Soma. The emphasis is on reverent timing, purity of offering, and aligning one’s act with the lunar/cosmic rhythm to gain enduring religious merit.
Skanda is instructing a ritual observance within the Anuśāsana Parva’s broader dharma-discourse. He prescribes the materials (udumbara vessel, cooked food, honey), the time (Paurṇamāsī at moonrise), and the recipient (Soma), presenting it as a beneficial, merit-producing practice.