Shloka 8

Śrāddha-pravṛtti-kathana and Varjya-dravya-nirdeśa

Origin and Prohibitions in Śrāddha

Devanagari script

आजेन वापि लौहेन मघास्वेव यतव्रत: । हस्तिच्छायासु विधिवत्‌ कर्णव्यजनवीजितम्‌

Transliteration

ājena vāpi lauhena maghāsveva yatavrataḥ | hasticchāyāsu vidhivat karṇavyajanavījitam ||

Translation

Bhishma nói: “Hoặc nữa, giữ giới nguyện với kỷ luật nghiêm minh, hãy làm śrāddha cho chúng ta đúng phép ngay trong chòm sao Maghā—ngồi dưới bóng do thân voi đổ xuống, được quạt gió bằng tai voi như một chiếc phất trần nghi lễ—mà dâng hoặc pāyasa bằng gạo, hoặc một món lauhā-śāka, theo đúng nghi thức.”

Word by Word

• आजेन्: with goat-meat / by (means of) goat
• आजेन्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)

• अपि: also / even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)

• लौहेन: with iron (food) / with lauha-vegetable
• लौहेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लौह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• मघासु: in (the time of) Maghā (nakṣatra)
• मघासु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मघा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Plural

• एव: indeed / only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)

• यतव्रतः: one of restrained vows / observing vows
• यतव्रतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यत-व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हस्ति-च्छायासु: in the shade(s) of an elephant
• हस्ति-च्छायासु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हस्ति-च्छाया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Plural

• विधिवत्: according to rule / duly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विधिवत् (अव्यय)

• कर्ण-व्यजन-वीजितम्: fanned by an ear-fan (i.e., by the elephant’s ears as fans)
• कर्ण-व्यजन-वीजितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्ण-व्यजन-वीजित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Maghā nakshatra
• elephant (hasti)
• śrāddha (ancestral rite)
• pāyasa (rice pudding offering)
• lauhā-śāka (named vegetable preparation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes disciplined observance of prescribed rites: śrāddha should be performed with proper procedure (vidhivat), appropriate offerings, and attention to auspicious timing (Maghā), showing that dharma is upheld through careful, rule-governed ancestral duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma is describing a specific, rule-bound mode of performing śrāddha: during the Maghā nakṣatra, the performer—steadfast in vows—sits in an elephant’s shade and is fanned by the elephant’s ears, while offering designated foods such as rice-pāyasa or lauhā-śāka, underscoring the ritual’s exacting conditions.