SB 1.8.1
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 1
sūta uvāca
atha te samparetānāṁ
svānām udakam icchatām
dātuṁ sakṛṣṇā gaṅgāyāṁ
puraskṛtya yayuḥ striyaḥ
SYNONYMS
sūtaḥ uvāca—Sūta said; atha—thus; te—the Pāṇḍavas; samparetānām—of the dead; svānām—of the relatives; udakam—water; icchatām—willing to have; dātum—to deliver; sa-kṛṣṇāḥ—along with Draupadī; gaṅgāyām—on the Ganges; puraskṛtya—putting in the front; yayuḥ—went; striyaḥ—the women.
TRANSLATION
Sūta Gosvāmī said: Thereafter the Pāṇḍavas, desiring to deliver water to the dead relatives who had desired it, went to the Ganges with Draupadī. The ladies walked in front.
PURPORT
To date it is the custom in Hindu society to go to the Ganges or any other sacred river to take bath when death occurs in the family. Each of the family members pours out a potful of the Ganges water for the departed soul and walks in a procession, with the ladies in the front. The Pāṇḍavas also followed the rules more than five thousand years ago. Lord Kṛṣṇa, being a cousin of the Pāṇḍavas, was also amongst the family members.