Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 126

ज्येष्ठ-कनिष्ठ-धर्मः — Duties of Elders and Juniors

Anuśāsana-parva 108

Devanagari script

नक्षत्रे न च कुर्वीत यस्मिन्‌ जातो भवेन्नर: । न प्रोष्ठपदयो: कार्य तथाग्नेये च भारत

Transliteration

nakṣatre na ca kurvīta yasmin jāto bhaven naraḥ | na proṣṭhapadayoḥ kārya tathāgneye ca bhārata bhārata |

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Một người không được làm nghi lễ vào chính nakṣatra mà mình sinh ra. Cũng không được làm vào hai Proṣṭhapadā (Bhādrapadā), và likewise vào chòm Agneya (Kṛttikā), hỡi Bhārata. Lời dạy này đặt việc chọn thời điểm nghi lễ như một phần của dharma: ngay cả việc cúng tổ tiên, tuy có công đức, cũng phải thuận theo các sao lành dữ đã được quy định.”

Word by Word

• नक्षत्रे: in (a) nakshatra/asterism
• नक्षत्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्षत्र
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• कुर्वीत: should do/perform
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Vidhi-linga (optative), Present-system, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• यस्मिन्: in which
• यस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• जातः: born
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जात
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (kta) from √जन्

• भवेत्: would be/is (should be understood as 'is')
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Vidhi-linga (optative), Present-system, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• नरः: a man/person
• नरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• प्रोष्ठपदयोः: in (the two) Proṣṭhapadā (nakshatras: Pūrvā & Uttarā Bhādrapadā)
• प्रोष्ठपदयोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रोष्ठपद
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Dual

• कार्य: a thing to be done / to be performed
• कार्य: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular, Gerundive (tavya/ya) sense from √कृ

• तथा: likewise/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• आग्नेये: in the Agneya (i.e., Kṛttikā) nakshatra
• आग्नेये: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आग्नेय
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• nakṣatra (lunar mansion)
• Proṣṭhapadā (Pūrvā Bhādrapadā, Uttarā Bhādrapadā)
• Agneya nakṣatra (Kṛttikā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ritual merit depends not only on intention but also on correct observance; certain nakṣatras—one’s own birth-star, the two Proṣṭhapadās, and Kṛttikā—are prescribed as unsuitable times for performing such rites (especially ancestral offerings).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, giving specific calendrical rules about when particular religious rites should or should not be performed.