Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.10.29
श्रीशुक उवाच
स्वानां विभीषणश्चक्रे कोसलेन्द्रानुमोदित: ।
पितृमेधविधानेन यदुक्तं साम्परायिकम् ॥ २९ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca
[shree-shuka uvaacha]
svānāṁ vibhīṣaṇaś cakre
[svaanaam vibheeshanash chakre]
kosalendrānumoditaḥ
[kosalendraanumoditah]
pitṛ-medha-vidhānena
[pitri-medha-vidhaanena]
yad uktaṁ sāmparāyikam
[yad uktam saamparaayikam]
Word-for-word
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca
—
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
svānām
—
of his own family members
vibhīṣaṇaḥ
—
Vibhīṣaṇa, the brother of Rāvaṇa and devotee of Lord Rāmacandra
cakre
—
executed
kosala-indra-anumoditaḥ
—
approved by the King of Kosala, Lord Rāmacandra
pitṛ-medha-vidhānena
—
by the funeral ceremony performed by the son after the death of his father or some family member
yat uktam
—
which have been prescribed
sāmparāyikam
—
duties to be performed after a person’s death to save him from the path to hell.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-śuka uvāca
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
svānāṁ vibhīṣaṇaś cakre
svānām
of his own family members
vibhīṣaṇaḥ
Vibhīṣaṇa, the brother of Rāvaṇa and devotee of Lord Rāmacandra
cakre
executed
kosalendrānumoditaḥ
kosala-indra-anumoditaḥ
approved by the King of Kosala, Lord Rāmacandra
pitṛ-medha-vidhānena
pitṛ-medha-vidhānena
by the funeral ceremony performed by the son after the death of his father or some family member
yad uktaṁ sāmparāyikam
yat uktam
which have been prescribed
sāmparāyikam
duties to be performed after a person’s death to save him from the path to hell.
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Vibhīṣaṇa, the pious brother of Rāvaṇa and devotee of Lord Rāmacandra, received approval from Lord Rāmacandra, the King of Kosala. Then he performed the prescribed funeral ceremonies for his family members to save them from the path to hell.
Purport
After giving up the body, one is transferred to another body, but sometimes, if one is too sinful, he is checked from transmigrating to another body, and thus he becomes a ghost. To save a diseased person from ghostly life, the funeral ceremony, or śrāddha ceremony, as prescribed in authorized śāstra, must be performed. Rāvaṇa was killed by Lord Rāmacandra and was destined for hellish life, but by Lord Rāmacandra’s advice, Vibhīṣaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s brother, performed all the duties prescribed in relation to the dead. Thus Lord Rāmacandra was kind to Rāvaṇa even after Rāvaṇa’s death.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Vibhīṣaṇa, with the approval from Rāmacandra, performed the prescribed funeral ceremonies for his family members with oblations to the Pitṛs.
Sāmparāyikam means death rites.
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Personal Guidance
Vibhīṣaṇa, the devotee brother, performs the funeral rites to save his family from ghostly destinies. Even after great wrongs, devotees can intervene posthumously to redirect the dead — devotional power crosses the grave.
Reflection Questions
- Whose deceased am I responsible for remembering through prescribed rites?
- How could my own bhakti now benefit those who have already left?
My note
Source: vedabase.io