HV 13.3
कियन्तो वै पितृगणाः कस्मिंल् लोके च ते गणाः । वर्तन्ति देवप्रवरा देवानां सोमवर्धनाः ॥
kiyanto vai pitṛ-gaṇāḥ kasmiṃl loke ca te gaṇāḥ | vartanti deva-pravarā devānāṃ soma-vardhanāḥ
'How many are the Pitṛ-gaṇas, and in what loka do those gaṇas — divine excellences, enhancers of the gods' soma — abide?'
The Living Words
*Kiyanto pitṛ-gaṇāḥ*, 'how many the Pitṛ-gaṇas'. *Kasmin loke vartanti*, 'in what loka do they abide'. *Devānāṃ soma-vardhanāḥ*, 'enhancers of the gods' soma'.
The Heart of It
The verse's last compound is striking. *Devānāṃ soma-vardhanāḥ* — 'enhancers of the gods' soma'. The Varkari tradition's attention: the Pitṛs, though in a lower loka than the devas, are *soma-vardhanāḥ*, the ones whose offerings strengthen even the gods. The śrāddha's *pinda* ultimately nourishes the gods. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh's view that even the highest *upāsanā* passes through *pitṛ-smṛti* — that one does not reach the devas except via the Pitṛs — has HV 13.3 as its Sanskrit ground.