Shloka 50

Devanagari script

संस्कृतं पायसं नित्यं यवागूं कूसरं हवि: । अष्टका: पितृदैवत्या ग्रहाणामभिपूजनम्‌

Transliteration

saṃskṛtaṃ pāyasaṃ nityaṃ yavāgūṃ kūsaraṃ haviḥ | aṣṭakāḥ pitṛ-daivatyā grahāṇām abhipūjanam ||

Translation

毗湿摩教诲说：应当常常精心备办祭祀之食——甜乳饭（pāyasa）、粥羹（yavāgū）、似哈瓦之甜食（kūsara）以及供献之圣供（havis）——并举行奉献于祖灵（Pitṛs）的阿湿塔迦（Aṣṭakā）仪式；又当如法敬礼诸“格罗诃”（Grahas），即诸行星之神祇，以维系天道与家法。

Word by Word

• संस्कृतम्: well-prepared, properly made
• संस्कृतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संस्कृत (ppp of √कृ with सम्-)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• पायसम्: rice-milk pudding (kheer)
• पायसम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पायस
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• नित्यम्: always, regularly
• नित्यम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य

• यवागूम्: gruel/porridge
• यवागूम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यवागू
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• कूसरम्: a kind of cooked offering/food (sweet dish/halवा-like preparation)
• कूसरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूसर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• हविः: oblation, sacrificial offering
• हविः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: हविस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अष्टकाः: Aṣṭakā rites (ancestral śrāddha on the aṣṭakā days)
• अष्टकाः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टका
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• पितृदैवत्याः: having the Pitṛs as the presiding deities
• पितृदैवत्याः: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पितृदैवत्य
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• ग्रहाणाम्: of the planets (grahas)
• ग्रहाणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अभिपूजनम्: worship, reverential honoring
• अभिपूजनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभिपूजन (from अभि-√पूज)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Aṣṭakā (ancestral rite)
• Grahāḥ (planetary deities / Navagraha)
• pāyasa
• yavāgū
• kūsara
• havis

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma includes disciplined household rites: offering properly prepared foods as havis, performing Aṣṭakā rites for the ancestors, and honoring the Grahas—thereby fulfilling obligations to lineage (Pitṛs) and maintaining harmony with cosmic forces.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he prescribes specific ritual observances: preparing certain offerings and conducting Aṣṭakā-Śrāddha for the Pitṛs, along with worship of the planetary deities.