Shloka 48

Pātra-Nirṇaya and Ritual Procedure: Who to Feed, Who to Avoid, and Step-by-Step Śrāddha Performance

Devanagari script

आपादशौचनात् पूर्वं कुर्याद् देवद्विजन्मसु विसर्जनं तु प्रथमं पैत्रं मातामहेषु वै

Transliteration

āpādaśaucanāt pūrvaṃ kuryād devadvijanmasu visarjanaṃ tu prathamaṃ paitraṃ mātāmaheṣu vai

Translation

Trước khi rửa chân, trong các nghi lễ dành cho chư thần và cho hàng dvija (nhị sinh), phải làm nghi thức visarjana. Nhưng trong nghi lễ tổ tiên, việc tiễn kết phải làm trước cho tổ tiên bên cha, và cũng vậy cho ông ngoại theo đúng thứ tự.

Word by Word

• आपादशौचनात्: before the washing up to the feet / from (the stage of) foot-cleansing
• आपादशौचनात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आ (उपसर्ग) + पाद (प्रातिपदिक) + शौच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समासः—आ-पाद-शौचन (up to the feet cleansing)

• पूर्वम्: beforehand
• पूर्वम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• देवद्विजन्मसु: in (the case of) gods and twice-born (brāhmaṇas etc.)
• देवद्विजन्मसु: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + द्विजन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; समासः—देव-द्विजन्मन् (gods and twice-born)

• विसर्जनम्: dismissal (sending off)
• विसर्जनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विसर्जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• तु: but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेष (but/indeed)

• प्रथमम्: first
• प्रथमम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रथम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण

• पैत्रम्: the ancestral (rite/dismissal)
• पैत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पैत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• मातामहेषु: among/with respect to the maternal grandfathers
• मातामहेषु: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक/खल्वर्थक (indeed)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Dvijas (twice-born)
• Pitṛs (paternal ancestors)
• Mātāmahas (maternal ancestors)

FAQs

What is the significance of visarjana (dismissal) in the Vishnu Purana’s ritual instructions?

This verse emphasizes that a rite is not complete until the formally invoked recipients (devas, dvijas, or pitṛs) are properly concluded and released; the timing of visarjana preserves ritual order and purity.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the correct order of ancestor-related procedures here?

He distinguishes general rites (for devas and twice-born) from the ancestral rite, stating that in śrāddha the paternal ancestors are dismissed first, and the maternal ancestral line is handled in its own proper sequence.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context of ritual detail?

Even when Vishnu is not named explicitly, the Purana frames dharma and correct ritual sequencing as part of the universal order upheld by the Supreme Reality; disciplined rites are presented as harmonizing human action with that divine governance.