Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 19
अलोभोपाख्यानम् — शुनःसख-यातुधानी-संवादः
The Allegory of Non-Greed: Śunaḥsakha and the Yātudhānī
जो चितकबरे रंगके बैलोंसे जुती गाड़ीपर बैठकर नदीके जलको पार कर रहा हो, उसके पितर इस समय मानो नावपर बैठकर उससे जलांजलि पानेकी इच्छा रखते हैं ।।
yaś citrakabare raṅgake bailaiḥ yutāṁ gāḍīṁ āruhya nadī-jalaṁ pārayan bhavati, tasya pitaras tadā nāvam āruhya iva tasmat jalāñjaliṁ prāptum icchanti. sadā nāvi jalatāḥ ajñāḥ prayacchanti samāhitāḥ. māsārthe kṛṣṇapakṣasya kuryān nirvapaṇāni vai.
毗湿摩说：若有人乘坐由斑驳而装饰齐整之牛所牵之车渡河，则其祖先当时宛如坐在舟中，渴望从他手中得受献水。故当以摄心专念，常以掬水之献（jalāñjali）奉给诸祖灵（Pitṛs）；尤当于每月黑半月（kṛṣṇa-pakṣa）之时，必行所规定的祖先供献（nirvapaṇa／与 śrāddha 相关之仪）。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should not neglect ongoing obligations to the ancestors: offer water (tarpana/jalāñjali) with a focused mind, and observe the appropriate lunar timing—especially the dark fortnight—for ancestral rites (nirvapaṇa/śrāddha-related offerings).
Bhishma is instructing on ancestral rites. He uses a vivid image: as a person crosses a river on a bullock-cart, the Pitṛs are imagined as if seated in a boat nearby, eagerly awaiting the water-offering from him—underscoring immediacy and duty.