Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 9.10.29

sri-suka uvaca

svanam vibhishanas cakre

kosalendranumoditah

pitri-medha-vidhanena

yad uktam samparayikam

SYNONYMS

sri-sukah uvaca -- Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; svanam -- of his own family members; vibhishanah -- Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana and devotee of Lord Ramacandra; cakre -- executed; kosala-indra-anumoditah -- approved by the King of Kosala, Lord Ramacandra; pitri-medha-vidhanena -- by the funeral ceremony performed by the son after the death of his father or some family member; yat uktam -- which have been prescribed; samparayikam -- duties to be performed after a person's death to save him from the path to hell.

TRANSLATION

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: Vibhishana, the pious brother of Ravana and devotee of Lord Ramacandra, received approval from Lord Ramacandra, 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 sraddha ceremony, as prescribed in authorized sastra, must be performed. Ravana was killed by Lord Ramacandra and was destined for hellish life, but by Lord Ramacandra's advice, Vibhishana, Ravana's brother, performed all the duties prescribed in relation to the dead. Thus Lord Ramacandra was kind to Ravana even after Ravana's death.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness