Shloka 13

तीर्थवंशोपदेशः

Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters

Devanagari script

श्वित्री क्लीबश्व कुछ्ठी च तथा यक्ष्महतश्न यः । अपस्मारी च यश्चान्धो राजन्‌ नाहन्ति केतनम्‌

Transliteration

śvitrī klībaś ca kuṣṭhī ca tathā yakṣma-hataś ca yaḥ | apasmārī ca yaś cāndho rājan nāhanti ketanam ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，凡患白斑（皮肤脱色）、阳痿、麻风、罗阇耶叉摩（痨病）、癫痫，或失明之人，皆不被视为适合在施行 śrāddha（祭祖追荐）之礼时受邀的对象。”

Word by Word

• श्वित्री: a person with white patches (leucoderma)
• श्वित्री: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वित्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• क्लीबः: an impotent/eunuch
• क्लीबः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्लीब
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• कुष्ठी: a leper
• कुष्ठी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुष्ठिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• तथा: likewise/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• यक्ष्महतः: one afflicted/struck by consumption (yakṣmā)
• यक्ष्महतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यक्ष्महत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपस्मारी: one with epilepsy
• अपस्मारी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपस्मारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अन्धः: blind
• अन्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• आहन्ति: they strike/kill; (here) they do not partake/are not fit
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• केतनम्: the invitation/summons (to śrāddha); the appointed rite/seat (contextual)
• केतनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: केतन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rājan (the King, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse states a traditional dharma-śāstric rule: certain severe illnesses or impairments are treated as disqualifications for being invited as recipients in the śrāddha rite, emphasizing ritual eligibility norms rather than personal worth.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, including detailed rules for ancestral rites (śrāddha). Here he lists categories of persons who, according to the tradition being cited, should not be invited to the śrāddha meal.