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

بہت سے طرح کے دھرم بیان کر کے اور بہت سے پِتروں کو ترپن سے سیراب کر کے، وہ مسرت بھرے مقام میں جذب ہو گیا—پاکیزہ، بےگناہ اور آلودگی سے آزاد۔

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.