Shloka 3

Śrāddha-utpatti and Nivāpa–Agni Precedence (श्राद्धोत्पत्तिः—निवापेऽग्निपूर्वकत्वम्)

Devanagari script

अपत्यकामो रोहिण्यां तेजस्कामो मृगोत्तमे । क्रूरकर्मा ददच्छाद्धमाद्रायां मानवो भवेत्‌

Transliteration

Bhīṣma uvāca: apatyakāmo rohiṇyāṃ tejaskāmo mṛgottame | krūrakarmā dadac chrāddham ādrāyāṃ mānavo bhavet ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“欲求子嗣者，当在罗希尼（Rohiṇī）宿下行施祖祭（śrāddha）；欲求光辉与雄健者，当在诸‘鹿宿’之最胜——摩伽尸罗（Mṛgaśīrṣa）宿下行之。然而，若在阿尔德罗（Ārdrā）宿下施行祖祭供献，则其人易趋于残酷之行；故不宜在Ārdrā宿下行śrāddha。”

Word by Word

• {'aptyakāmaḥ (apatyakāmaḥ)': 'desiring offspring/progeny', 'rohiṇyām': 'in/under the nakṣatra Rohiṇī (locative)', 'tejaskāmaḥ': 'desiring tejas—splendor, brilliance, vigor', 'mṛgottame': 'in the best among the ‘mṛga’ nakṣatras

• commonly taken as Mṛgaśīrṣa (locative)', 'krūrakarmā': 'one of cruel actions

• inclined to harsh/violent deeds', 'dadat': 'giving, bestowing (present participle of √dā)', 'śrāddham': 'ancestral rite/oblation offered to Pitṛs

• funerary/ancestral offering', 'ādrāyām': 'in/under the nakṣatra Ārdrā (locative)', 'mānavaḥ': 'a human being, man', 'bhavet': 'would become (optative of √bhū)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Śrāddha
• Rohiṇī (nakṣatra)
• Mṛgaśīrṣa / Mṛga (nakṣatra group)
• Ārdrā (nakṣatra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the timing of śrāddha is ethically and spiritually consequential: certain nakṣatras are recommended for specific aims (progeny, tejas), while Ārdrā is discouraged because it is said to foster a disposition toward cruel action.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising on dharma and ritual propriety, specifying which lunar mansions are considered suitable or unsuitable for performing śrāddha and what effects are traditionally attributed to those timings.