Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 113
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
रौद्रे लोहितमित्याहुलोहितात् कनकं स्मृतम् । तन्मैत्रमिति विज्ञेयं धूमाच्च वसव: स्मृता:
raudre lohitam ity āhur lohitāt kanakaṃ smṛtam | tan maitram iti vijñeyaṃ dhūmāc ca vasavaḥ smṛtāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vasiṣṭha: “Sa anyong Rudra, ito’y tinatawag na ‘lohita’ (ang mapula); mula sa ‘lohita’ na iyon, sinasabing sumisilang ang ginto. Iyon ay dapat maunawaan bilang ‘maitra’—nauukol kay Mitra, ang simulain ng pagkakasundo at pagkakaibigan. At mula sa usok, inaalala na nagmula ang mga Vasu.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links divine principles to elemental transformations: ‘Lohita’ in the Rudra-aspect is associated with the emergence of gold, which is then characterized as ‘maitra’ (aligned with Mitra—harmony and alliance). It also preserves a traditional cosmological association that the Vasus are connected with (or arise from) smoke.
Vasiṣṭha is presenting a traditional, Vedic-style mapping of names and origins—connecting Rudra, Lohita, gold, Mitra, smoke, and the Vasus—within a didactic discourse that uses cosmological correspondences to convey ordered relationships in the world.