Upanishads · Bhasmajābāla 2.69
॥
Devanāgarī
अन्तर्गृहे रेतो मूत्रं पुरीषं वा विसृजन्ति तदा तेन सिञ्चन्ते पितॄन् । तमेव पापकारिणं मृतं पश्यन्नीललोहितो भैरवस्तं पातयत्यस्रमण्डले ज्वलज्ज्वलनकुण्डेष्वन्येष्वपि
Transliteration (IAST)
antargṛhe reto mūtraṃ purīṣaṃ vā visṛjanti tadā tena siñcante pitṝn | tameva pāpakāriṇaṃ mṛtaṃ paśyannīlalohito bhairavastaṃ pātayatyasramaṇḍale jvalajjvalanakuṇḍeṣvanyeṣvapi
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अन्तर्-गृहे विसृजन्तिantar-gṛhe visṛjantithey release semen, urine, or excrement
रेतः मूत्रं पुरीषं वाretaḥ mūtraṃ purīṣaṃ vāin the sanctuary
तदा तेन सिञ्चन्ते पितॄन्tadā tena siñcante pitṝnthereby they besprinkle the ancestors
तम् एव पाप-कारिणं मृतं पश्यन्tam eva pāpa-kāriṇaṃ mṛtaṃ paśyanseeing that very sinner, dead
नील-लोहितः भैरवःnīla-lohitaḥ bhairavaḥthe dark-red Bhairava
तं पातयति अस्र-मण्डलेtaṃ pātayati asra-maṇḍalecasts him into the circle of blood
Translation
«In the sanctuary they release semen, urine, or excrement — thereby they besprinkle the ancestors. Seeing that very sinner, dead, the dark-red Bhairava casts him into the circle of blood and into other blazing, fiery pits».
Version
ced7c070717a · published Aug 7, 2026, 4:41:18 AM UTC
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Here it is said most harshly, and there is nothing to soften: he casts into a circle of blood and into blazing pits. One turn of phrase deserves examination: tena siñcante pitṝn, «thereby they besprinkle the ancestors». The offering to the ancestors, tarpaṇa, is made with water; and it is said that one who has defiled the sanctuary thereby makes that offering to his own ancestors — with filth.
A cruel and calculated turn of phrase. It strikes not at the guilty one himself but at those he loves and owes; and it is devised for a person to whom nothing frightens him on his own account. Let us say this honestly, for the matter here is not confined to this one book. This device works, and so it is widespread in every tradition: what is threatened is not punishment to the offender, but disaster for those close to him.
It sets obedience, however, on fear for another, and therein lies its fault. A person restrained by such a threat is restrained not by love for what is holy and not by understanding, but by fear of harming his own; and as soon as he stops believing the threat, nothing is left. The Vaishnava side speaks otherwise of the posthumous fate of the ancestors, and the difference matters. For it, a devotee who has turned to the Lord liberates his line rather than drowning it: the Bhāgavatam says that of one who has come to Him, the family is purified for many generations (11.14.24, 6.2.6, in the story of Ajāmila).
Both turns of phrase, on close look, rest on the same conviction: a person is bound to his own and draws them along after him. Only one says he draws them down by his impurity, the other that he draws them up by his turning; and the second, given the same conviction, calls not for fear but for movement.