Shloka 81

Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda

Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity

Devanagari script

अमावास्यां तु ये मर्त्या: प्रयच्छन्ति तिलोदकम्‌

Transliteration

amāvāsyāṃ tu ye martyāḥ prayacchanti tilodakam, tapodhana! yo manuṣya amāvāsyāke dina tāṃbeke pātrameṃ madhu evaṃ tilase miśrita jala lekara usake dvārā pitr̥roṃkā tarpaṇa karate haiṃ, unake dvārā rahasyasahita śrāddhakarma yathārtharūpase sampādita ho jātā hai

Translation

帝释（Śakra）说道：“噢，苦行功德深厚者（tapodhana）！凡人在阿摩婆娑耶（Amāvāsyā，新月之日）以芝麻和水相和而施——用铜器盛之，调以蜂蜜与芝麻，并以此为诸祖灵（Pitṛ）行供水礼（tarpana）——便能如法成就施罗陀（śrāddha）之仪，诸应守之圣行亦皆具足。”

Word by Word

• अमावास्याम्: on the new-moon day
• अमावास्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमावास्या
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मर्त्याः: mortals/men
• मर्त्याः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रयच्छन्ति: give/offer
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-यम् (यच्छति)
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• तिलोदकम्: water with sesame (sesame-water offering)
• तिलोदकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल + उदक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तपोधन: O ascetic rich in austerity
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपोधन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

शक्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Tapodhana (addressed ascetic/sage)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Amāvāsyā (new-moon day)
• Tilodaka (sesame-water offering)
• Copper vessel (tāmra-pātra)
• Honey (madhu)
• Sesame (tila)
• Śrāddha (ancestral rite)
• Tarpaṇa (libation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches pitṛ-dharma: honoring one’s ancestors through properly timed and properly prepared offerings (tilodaka on amāvāsyā) is a valid and meritorious way to complete śrāddha according to prescribed observances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śakra (Indra) instructs an ascetic (addressed as tapodhana) about the efficacy of performing ancestral libations on the new-moon day, specifying sesame-water (with honey and sesame in a copper vessel) as a means by which the śrāddha rite is duly fulfilled.