Shloka 36
Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline
गजच्छायायां पूर्वस्यां कुतपे दक्षिणामुख: । यदा भाद्रपदे मासि भवते बहुले मघा
gajacchāyāyāṃ pūrvasyāṃ kutape dakṣiṇāmukhaḥ | yadā bhādrapade māsi bhavate bahule maghā |
毗湿瓦密多罗说道：“诸天啊，请听这关于达摩的至秘教诲。当在婆陀罗钵陀月的黑半月，摩伽（Maghā）宿出现之时，若有人面向南方，于吉时‘库塔帕’——当象影投向东方之刻——立于其影中，以最上等的食物作为供施献给皮特里（祖灵），便被说能得广大之果：仅凭这一施舍，当知他在此世为祖灵成就了长达十三年的大施罗陀（śrāddha）。”
विश्वामित्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that properly timed and intentioned charity—especially the gift of good food dedicated to the Pitṛs—can yield exceptionally large merit. It emphasizes dharma as disciplined giving aligned with sacred time (nakṣatra, fortnight, and muhūrta) and correct ritual orientation.
Viśvāmitra addresses the gods and reveals a confidential rule about ancestral rites: under a specific calendrical configuration (Bhādrapada, dark fortnight, Maghā) and at the kutapa time, a person facing south and standing where an elephant’s shadow falls eastward should give food as an offering for the Pitṛs; the act is praised as equivalent to sustaining a great śrāddha for thirteen years.