Why the Ancestors Are Called Pindas

Verse 1 (12.355.1)

कस्यचित्त्वथ कालस्य नारदः परमेष्ठिजः । दैवं कृत्वा यथान्यायं पित्र्यं चक्रे ततः परम् ॥

kasyacittvatha kālasya nāradaḥ parameṣṭhijaḥ | daivaṃ kṛtvā yathānyāyaṃ pitryaṃ cakre tataḥ param

After some time Narada, born of Brahma, having performed the rite for the gods in due form, then performed the rite for the ancestors.

Verse 2 (12.355.2)

ततस्तं वचनं प्राह ज्येष्ठो धर्मात्मजः प्रभुः । क इज्यते द्विजश्रेष्ठ दैवे पित्र्ये च कल्पिते ॥

tatastaṃ vacanaṃ prāha jyeṣṭho dharmātmajaḥ prabhuḥ | ka ijyate dvijaśreṣṭha daive pitrye ca kalpite

Then the elder son of Dharma, the lord, said to him: "Whom is one worshipping, O best of brahmins, in the rite arranged for the gods and for the ancestors?"

Note on the text: Line 1 is the narrator's introduction; line 2 is the question itself, put by the elder son of Dharma.

Verse 3 (12.355.3)

त्वया मतिमतां श्रेष्ठ तन्मे शंस यथातथम् । किमेतत्क्रियते कर्म फलं वाऽस्य किमिष्यते ॥

tvayā matimatāṃ śreṣṭha tanme śaṃsa yathātatham | kimetatkriyate karma phalaṃ vā'sya kimiṣyate

O best of the wise, tell me this exactly as it is: what is this rite that is performed, and what fruit is sought from it?

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the elder son of Dharma's direct speech, with no printed heading; it fills the whole verse (the input carried वैशंपायन). Line 1 has यथातथम् where the CE has यथागमम् (recension variant), kept.

Verse 4 (12.355.4)

त्वयैतत्कथितं पूर्वं दैवं कर्तव्यमित्यपि । दैवतं च परो ज्ञेयः परमात्मा सनातनः ॥

tvayaitatkathitaṃ pūrvaṃ daivaṃ kartavyamityapi | daivataṃ ca paro jñeyaḥ paramātmā sanātanaḥ

You yourself said before that the rite for the gods must be performed, and that the deity to be known is the Supreme One, the eternal Supreme Self.

Note on the text: Line 2 has परो ज्ञेयः where the CE has परो यज्ञः (recension variant), kept.

Verse 5 (12.355.5)

ततस्तद्भावितो नित्यं यजे वैकुण्ठमव्ययम् । तस्माच्च प्रसृतः पूर्वं ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः ॥

tatastadbhāvito nityaṃ yaje vaikuṇṭhamavyayam | tasmācca prasṛtaḥ pūrvaṃ brahmā lokapitāmahaḥ

So, ever filled with the thought of him, I worship the imperishable Vaikuntha; from him came forth in the beginning Brahma, grandfather of the worlds.

Verse 6 (12.355.6)

मम वै पितरं प्रीतः परमेष्ठ्यप्यजीजनत् । अहं संकल्पजस्तस्य पुत्रः प्रथमकल्पितः ॥

mama vai pitaraṃ prītaḥ parameṣṭhyapyajījanat | ahaṃ saṃkalpajastasya putraḥ prathamakalpitaḥ

Brahma, the Supreme Lord, being pleased, also begot my father; and I am his son, born of his will, the first he conceived.

Verse 7 (12.355.7)

यजामि वै पितॄन्साधो नारायणविधौ कृते । एवं स एव भगवान्पिता माता पितामहः ॥

yajāmi vai pitṝnsādho nārāyaṇavidhau kṛte | evaṃ sa eva bhagavānpitā mātā pitāmahaḥ

Good sir, I worship the ancestors when the rite is done by the Narayana rule. Thus that same blessed one is father, mother and grandfather.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.333.7a, 12.333.7c (line 1 has यजामि वै for यजाम्यहम्, a recension variant, kept).

Verse 8 (12.355.8)

इज्यते पितृयज्ञेषु मया नित्यं जगत्पतिः । श्रुतिश्चाप्यपरा देवाः पुत्रान्हि पितरोऽयजन् ॥

ijyate pitṛyajñeṣu mayā nityaṃ jagatpatiḥ | śrutiścāpyaparā devāḥ putrānhi pitaro'yajan

In the ancestral sacrifices I always worship him, the Lord of the world. And there is another sacred text too: the ancestors, who are gods, worshipped their sons.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.333.7e, 12.333.8a.

Verse 9 (12.355.9)

वेदश्रुतिः प्रनष्टा च पुनरध्यापिता सुतैः । ततस्ते मन्त्रदाः पुत्राः पितॄणामिति वैदिकम् ॥

vedaśrutiḥ pranaṣṭā ca punaradhyāpitā sutaiḥ | tataste mantradāḥ putrāḥ pitṝṇāmiti vaidikam

The Vedic scripture was lost and was taught again by the sons; therefore the sons became the givers of mantras to the ancestors — such is the Vedic account.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.333.8c, 12.333.8e (line 2 ततस्ते मन्त्रदाः पुत्राः पितॄणामिति वैदिकम् is a recension variant of the CE's पितृत्वमुपपेदिरे, kept).

Verse 10 (12.355.10)

नूनं सुरैस्तद्विदितं युवयोर्भावितात्मनोः । पुत्राश्च पितरश्चैव परस्परमपूजयन् ॥

nūnaṃ suraistadviditaṃ yuvayorbhāvitātmanoḥ | putrāśca pitaraścaiva parasparamapūjayan

Surely this is known to the gods, and to you two of purified selves: that sons and ancestors worshipped one another.

Verse 11 (12.355.11)

त्रीन्पिण्डान्न्यस्य वै पित्र्यान्पूर्वं दत्त्वा कुशानिति । कथं तु पिण्डसंज्ञां ते पितरो लेभिरे पुरा ॥

trīnpiṇḍānnyasya vai pitryānpūrvaṃ dattvā kuśāniti | kathaṃ tu piṇḍasaṃjñāṃ te pitaro lebhire purā

One first lays down kusha grass and sets out the three ancestral pindas. How then, in ancient times, did the ancestors come to be called by the name "pinda"?

Note on the text: Line 1 has पित्र्यान् where the CE has पृथ्व्याम् (recension variant, recorded on the page as a ध. थ. reading), kept.

Verse 12 (12.355.12)

इमां हि धरणीं पूर्वं नष्टां सागरमेखलाम् । गोविन्द उज्जहाराशु वाराहं रूपमास्थितः ॥

imāṃ hi dharaṇīṃ pūrvaṃ naṣṭāṃ sāgaramekhalām | govinda ujjahārāśu vārāhaṃ rūpamāsthitaḥ

Long ago, when this earth, girdled by the ocean, was lost, Govinda quickly lifted it up, taking the form of a boar.

Note on the text: The input carried the heading नरनारायणावूचतुः । inside the Sanskrit and the speaker नारद; the heading is made the speaker (speaker_line नरनारायणावूचतुः) and the line removed.

Verse 13 (12.355.13)

स्थापयित्वा तु धरणीं स्वे स्थाने पुरुषोत्तमः । जलकर्दमलिप्ताङ्गो लोककार्यार्थमुद्यतः ॥

sthāpayitvā tu dharaṇīṃ sve sthāne puruṣottamaḥ | jalakardamaliptāṅgo lokakāryārthamudyataḥ

Having set the earth back in its place, the Supreme Person, his limbs smeared with water and mud, was intent on the work of the world.

Verse 14 (12.355.14)

प्राप्ते चाह्निककाले तु मध्यदेशगते रवौ । दंष्ट्राविलग्नांस्त्रीन्पिण्डान्विधूय सहसा प्रभुः ॥

prāpte cāhnikakāle tu madhyadeśagate ravau | daṃṣṭrāvilagnāṃstrīnpiṇḍānvidhūya sahasā prabhuḥ

When the time for his daily rite came, with the sun at midday, the lord suddenly shook off the three balls clinging to his tusks,

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.333.13a, 12.333.13c (variants: मध्यदेशगते for मध्यंदिनगते, त्रीन्पिण्डान् for मृत्पिण्डान्), kept.

Verse 15 (12.355.15)

स्थापयामास वै पृथ्व्यां कुशानास्तीर्य नारद । स तेष्वात्मानमुद्दिश्य पित्र्यं चक्रे यथाविधि ॥

sthāpayāmāsa vai pṛthvyāṃ kuśānāstīrya nārada | sa teṣvātmānamuddiśya pitryaṃ cakre yathāvidhi

and set them down on the earth, O Narada, having spread kusha grass. Taking himself as the object of the rite in them, he performed the ancestral rite according to rule.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.333.13e, 12.333.14a.

Verse 16 (12.355.16)

संकल्पयित्वा त्रीन्पिण्डान्स्वेनैव विधिना प्रभुः । आत्मगात्रोष्मसंभूतैः स्नेहगर्भैस्तिलैरपि ॥

saṃkalpayitvā trīnpiṇḍānsvenaiva vidhinā prabhuḥ | ātmagātroṣmasaṃbhūtaiḥ snehagarbhaistilairapi

The lord designated the three balls by his own rule, with sesame seeds, rich with oil within, produced from the warmth of his own body,

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.333.14c, 12.333.15a.

Verse 17 (12.355.17)

प्रोक्ष्यापसव्यं देवेशः प्राङ्मुखः कृतवान्स्वयम् । मर्यादास्थापनार्थं च ततो वचनमुक्तवान् ॥

prokṣyāpasavyaṃ deveśaḥ prāṅmukhaḥ kṛtavānsvayam | maryādāsthāpanārthaṃ ca tato vacanamuktavān

and, sprinkling them in the reverse manner, the lord of the gods himself, facing east, performed the rite; then, to establish the rule, he spoke these words.

Note on the text: Corrected प्राङ्भुखः → प्राङ्मुखः (misprint in Wikisource; भ for म; CE prāṅmukhaḥ). Lines = CE 12.333.15c, 12.333.16a (line 1 प्रोक्ष्यापसव्यम् for प्रोक्ष्यापवर्गम्, a recension variant, kept).

Verse 18 (12.355.18)

अहं हि पितरः स्रष्टुमुद्यतो लोककृत्स्वयम् । तस्य चिन्तयतः सद्यः पितृकार्यविधीन्परान् ॥

ahaṃ hi pitaraḥ sraṣṭumudyato lokakṛtsvayam | tasya cintayataḥ sadyaḥ pitṛkāryavidhīnparān

I, the maker of the worlds, was myself about to create the ancestors; and as I was thinking at once of the highest rites for the ancestors,

Note on the text: Speaker as printed on the page (वृषाकपिरुवाच, 12-355-18x). Lines = CE 12.333.16c, 12.333.17a; in the CE the words are the continued speech of the same Boar-form, with no change of speaker.

Verse 19 (12.355.19)

दंष्ट्राभ्यां प्रविनिर्धूता ममैते दक्षिणां दिशम् । आश्रिता धरणीं पीड्य तस्मात्पितर एव ते ॥

daṃṣṭrābhyāṃ pravinirdhūtā mamaite dakṣiṇāṃ diśam | āśritā dharaṇīṃ pīḍya tasmātpitara eva te

these, shaken off by my tusks, settled toward the south, pressing upon the earth; therefore they are indeed the ancestors.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.333.17c, 12.333.17e (line 2 आश्रिता धरणीं पीड्य for आश्रिता धरणीं पिण्डाः, a recension variant, kept).

Verse 20 (12.355.20)

त्रयो मूर्तिविहीना वै पिण्डमूर्तिधरास्त्विमे । भवन्तु पितरो लोके मया सृष्टाः सनातनाः ॥

trayo mūrtivihīnā vai piṇḍamūrtidharāstvime | bhavantu pitaro loke mayā sṛṣṭāḥ sanātanāḥ

These three, bodiless, bearing the form of balls, shall be the ancestors in the world, everlasting, created by me.

Verse 21 (12.355.21)

पिता पितामहश्चैव तथैव प्रपितामहः । अहमेवात्र विज्ञेयस्त्रिषु पिण्डेषु संस्थितः । नास्ति मत्तोऽधिकः कश्चित्को वान्योऽर्च्यो मया स्वयं ॥

pitā pitāmahaścaiva tathaiva prapitāmahaḥ | ahamevātra vijñeyastriṣu piṇḍeṣu saṃsthitaḥ | nāsti matto'dhikaḥ kaścitko vānyo'rcyo mayā svayaṃ

Father, grandfather and likewise great-grandfather — know that it is I alone who am present here, abiding in the three balls. There is no one greater than I; whom else should I myself worship?

Note on the text: Corrected को वान्योर्च्यो → को वान्योऽर्च्यो (misprint in Wikisource; the avagraha of अन्यः + अर्च्यः dropped; the CE has the different reading ko vābhyarcyo mayā svayam, same sense). Three-line verse (12-355-21a/b/c) = CE 12.333.19a, 19c, 20a. The page omits the closing double danda after line 3.

Verse 22 (12.355.22)

अहमेव पिता लोके अहमेव पितामहः । पितामहपिता चैव अहमेवात्र कारणम् ॥

ahameva pitā loke ahameva pitāmahaḥ | pitāmahapitā caiva ahamevātra kāraṇam

I alone am the father in the world, I alone the grandfather; and the father of the grandfather too — I alone am the cause here.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.333.20c, 12.333.21a (line 1 अहमेव पिता लोके for को वा मम पिता लोके, a recension variant, kept).

Verse 23 (12.355.23)

इत्येतदुक्त्वा वचनं देवदेवो वृषाकपिः । वराहपर्वते विप्र दत्त्वा पिण्डान्सविस्तरान् । आत्मानं पूजयित्वैव तत्रैवादर्शनं गतः ॥

ityetaduktvā vacanaṃ devadevo vṛṣākapiḥ | varāhaparvate vipra dattvā piṇḍānsavistarān | ātmānaṃ pūjayitvaiva tatraivādarśanaṃ gataḥ

Having spoken these words, the god of gods, Vrishakapi, on Mount Varaha, O brahmin, gave the balls with full ceremony, worshipped himself, and vanished right there.

Note on the text: Speaker: the page's heading वृषाकपिरुवाच (before verse 18) is kept for verses 18-22, Vrishakapi's own words; from this verse the text speaks of Vrishakapi in the third person (इत्येतदुक्त्वा … वृषाकपिः), so the narration returns to Nara and Narayana, as in the CE (where the whole passage is one speech of the two). Three-line verse (12-355-23a/b/c) = CE 12.333.21c, 22a, 22c.

Verse 24 (12.355.24)

एतदर्थं शुभमते पितरः पिण्डसंज्ञिताः । लभन्ते सततं पूजां वृषाकपिवचो यथा ॥

etadarthaṃ śubhamate pitaraḥ piṇḍasaṃjñitāḥ | labhante satataṃ pūjāṃ vṛṣākapivaco yathā

For this reason, O man of auspicious mind, the ancestors, called pindas, always receive worship, as the word of Vrishakapi declares.

Note on the text: Corrected सुभमते → शुभमते (misprint in Wikisource; स for श; CE śubhamate).

Verse 25 (12.355.25)

ये यजन्ति पितॄन्देवान्गुरूंश्चैवातिथींस्तथा । गाश्चैव द्विजमुख्यांश्च पितरं मातरं तथा ॥

ye yajanti pitṝndevāngurūṃścaivātithīṃstathā | gāścaiva dvijamukhyāṃśca pitaraṃ mātaraṃ tathā

Those who worship the ancestors, the gods, the teachers, the guests, the cows, the foremost of brahmins, and father and mother,

Note on the text: Corrected चैवातिर्थीस्तथा → चैवातिथींस्तथा (misprint in Wikisource; broken conjunct and a missing nasal; CE atithīṃs tathā). Lines = CE 12.333.24a, 12.333.24c (line 2 पितरं मातरं तथा for पृथिवीं मातरं तथा, a recension variant, kept).

Verse 26 (12.355.26)

कर्मणा मनसा वाचा विष्णुमेव यजन्ति ते । अन्तर्गतः स भगवान्सर्वसत्वशरीरगः ॥

karmaṇā manasā vācā viṣṇumeva yajanti te | antargataḥ sa bhagavānsarvasatvaśarīragaḥ

worship Vishnu alone, in deed, thought and speech; for that blessed one dwells within, residing in the body of every being.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.333.24e, 12.333.25a.

Verse 27 (12.355.27)

समः सर्वेषु भूतेषु ईश्वरः सुखदुःखयोः । महान्महात्मा सर्वात्मा नारायण इति श्रुतिः ॥

samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu īśvaraḥ sukhaduḥkhayoḥ | mahānmahātmā sarvātmā nārāyaṇa iti śrutiḥ

He is the same in all beings, lord over pleasure and pain, great, great-souled, the Self of all: the sacred text calls him Narayana.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.333.25c, 12.333.25e (line 2 ends श्रुतिः where the CE has श्रुतः, a recension variant, kept).