दायभागकथनम्The law of inheritance
Verse 84
द्वादशाब्दे गते तेषां दर्भदेहान् विदाहयेत् । त्रिरात्रान्ते तत्सुताद्यैः प्रेतत्वं परिमोचयेत् ॥ ८४ ॥
dvādaśābdē gatē tēṣāṁ darbhadēhān vidāhayēt | trirātrāntē tatsutādyaiḥ prētatvaṁ parimōcayēt || 84 ||
Translation
When twelve years have passed he should have bodies of darbha grass made for them and burned, and after three nights have their sons and the rest free them from the state of a preta.
Word by word
- dvādaśa
- twelve
- abdē
- years
- gatē
- having passed
- tēṣāṁ
- their
- darbha
- of darbha
- dēhān
- bodies
- vidāhayēt
- should have burned
- trirātra
- three nights
- antē
- at the end
- tat
- their
- suta
- sons
- ādyaiḥ
- (ādyaiḥ) and the rest
- prētatvaṁ
- the state of a preta
- parimōcayēt
- should free
Meaning
A missing man is held dead after twelve years. A body of kuśa grass stands in for his, it is cremated, and three nights of rites free him from being a preta, the restless dead (chapter 10).
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
After twelve years the king should have bodies of kuśa grass made for the men of whom nothing is known burned by their sons and the rest, and at the end of three nights have them released from the state of preta: this he tells with "dvādaśābde" and the rest. When twelve years have gone by, the king should have their bodies of darbha, bodies made of kuśa grass, burned by the sons and others of those men of whom nothing has been heard; and at the end of three nights he should through those same people free them from the state of a preta (pretatva).