Verse 3.203 [Order of Sequence]

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

दैवकार्याद् द्विजातीनां पितृकार्यं विशिष्यते ।
दैवं हि पितृकार्यस्य पूर्वमाप्यायनं स्मृतम् ॥ २०३ ॥

daivakāryād dvijātīnāṃ pitṛkāryaṃ viśiṣyate |
daivaṃ hi pitṛkāryasya pūrvamāpyāyanaṃ smṛtam || 203 ||

For twice-born men, the rite in honour of the Pitṛs excels that in honour of the gods; the rite in honour of the gods has been declared to be the previous sustainer of the rite in honour of the Pitṛs.—(203)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The rite done in honour of the gods is excelled by that done in honour of the Pitṛs; i.e., the latter has been more emphatically enjoined.

This only indicates the predominance of the rite in honour of the Pitṛs; the meaning being that the rite in honour of the gods is subsidiary to that in honour of the Pitṛs.

This same subsidiary character is more clearly stated,—‘The rite’—i.e., the feeding of Brāhmaṇas—‘that is done in honour of the gods’ is the, ‘sustainer’—helper—‘of the rite done in honour of the Pitṛs;’ so that it is not by itself an important act, being only an aid of that in honour of the Pitṛs.—(203)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Gadādharapaddhati (Kāla, p. 526), which explains ‘āpyāyanam’ as ‘helping’, ‘subsidiary’.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Āśvalāyana (24.1).—‘Without offering the sacrifice to the Pitṛs, or the annual Śrāddha to individual ancestors,—if one performs other five sacrifices, he surely goes to hell.’