Harivamsha App.I.4

Sanatkumāra said:
Henceforth I shall proclaim according to rule the ritual ordinance

for regular śrāddha rites that are motivated by desires, occasional, and perpetual.

There should be three Aṣṭakā days beginning in the month of Āgrahāyaṇa;

in the dark fortnight, the first, regarded as highest, is said to belong to Indra;

the second belongs to Prajāpati, and the third belongs to the Viśvedevas.

The first is traditionally ordained always with cakes, the other always with meats;

the third should be performed with vegetables: this is the rule regarding the substances.

The rite following the Aṣṭakā is continually prescribed for the ancestors.

And whichever other fourth there may be, one should perform that with effort.

A wise man should continually perform the śrāddha for longevity, even with all his property;

blessings arrive quickly, and he rejoices here and in the hereafter.

At all times the ancestors, and at lunar times the deities,

all come to a man as cows to water troughs.

If not worshipped on the Aṣṭakā day, they will not bestow well-being;

fruitless are his hopes, both here and in the hereafter, always.

Worshippers always rise, while deniers go downward;

givers go to the gods, and non-givers go to animal wombs.

Nourishment, offspring, memory, intelligence, sons, and sovereign power—

performing [the rite] on the full-moon day, he obtains everything in fullness.

The first day is for gaining wealth, and what he gains does not perish;

and whoever performs it on the second day becomes a master of two-footed creatures.

For those seeking results, the third day destroys enemies and destroys sins;

performing it on the fourth day, he perceives the weaknesses of his enemies.

Even performing it on the fifth day, he attains great prosperity;

performing śrāddha rites on the sixth day, he attains honour from the twice-born.

The man who constantly performs śrāddha rites on the seventh day

attains a great sacrificial session and becomes a lord of retinues.

The man who performs it on the eighth day attains a full livelihood;

śrāddha should be performed on the ninth day by one desiring sovereign power over men.

Performing it on the tenth day, a man would obtain sacred, brahminical splendour;

he would also attain all the Vedas and become esteemed by brahmins.

On the eleventh day, supreme generosity, sovereign power, and progeny;

on the twelfth day, [it is performed] for obtaining victory, kingdom, long life, and wealth.

Increase of progeny, sacrificial beasts, independence, excellent nourishment,

long life, and sovereign power come to one who performs it on the thirteenth day.

Those young men who have died in his house—for them one should make offerings,

or for those who have been slain by a weapon, one should offer on the fourteenth day.

On the new-moon day, pure, one should always perform the śrāddha with care;

he obtains all desires and enjoys infinity in heaven.

One should give food on the new-moon day; this leads to the replenishment of Soma.

he attains the human realm and obtains everything there.

Nourished in this way, Soma will sustain the three worlds.

Ever mighty, he is praised by siddhas, cāraṇas, and gandharvas,

with holy, charming hymns of praise that provide every desire,

and by apsarases by the thousands with dance, instrumental music, and songs.

Danced before [by them], seated on an aerial chariot, devoted to the ancestors, firm in his vows,

gods, gandharvas, and hosts of siddhas always praise him.

Devoted to the ancestors on the new-moon day, he would obtain all desires.

Performing śrāddhas under Maghā, he would obtain all desires.

The ancestors are always worshipped visibly by him,

because Maghā has the ancestors for deities; therefore they know [the gift] under it to be imperishable.

The optional śrāddhas which Yama declared to Śaśabindu,

hear them from me, each according to its lunar mansion:

A man who continually performs a śrāddha during the conjunction of Kṛttikā,

having established the fires, with offspring, free from anxiety, would offer sacrifice.

He always crosses difficulties, and becomes steadfast and prosperous.

Desiring offspring, under Rohiṇī; under the [lunar mansion] presided over by Soma, he would attain splendour.

Performing a śrāddha under Ārdrā, he would obtain a share in fierce actions;

performing a śrāddha under Punarvasu, he would obtain a share in land and sons;

under Mṛgaśīrṣa, renowned;

under Ārdrā, endowed with prudence and gentle; and under Punarvasu, prosperous.

A man desiring prosperity, again, should perform a śrāddha under Puṣya.

Moreover, having given [a gift] under Āśleṣā, he would obtain heroic sons.

Performing a śrāddha under Maghā, he becomes the foremost among his kin.

Performing it under the Phalgunīs, a man obtains good fortune.

He who performs it under the Uttaras becomes generous and endowed with offspring.

He who gratifies the ancestors under Hasta becomes pre-eminent in assemblies.

He who performs it under Citrā would obtain handsome sons.

A twice-born desiring to live by trade should perform it under Svāti.

For the sake of sons, a man should desire a śrāddha under Viśākhā.

A man performing it under Anurādhā would turn the wheel [of sovereignty];

he who performs a śrāddha under Jyeṣṭhā indeed would obtain supremacy.

Under Mūla, there would be acquisition of health; under the Āṣāḍhās, great renown;

and under Uttarāṣāḍhā, a man would become free from sorrow.

Under Śravaṇa, he would attain the supreme state among the worlds;

under Śraviṣṭhā, he would obtain the enjoyments of kingship and vast wealth.

Performing a śrāddha under Abhijit, he would obtain the Vedas with their auxiliary limbs;

performing it under the lunar mansion belonging to Varuṇa, he would obtain perfection as a physician.

Performing it under Pūrvaproṣṭhapadā, he finds long life;

performing it again under the Uttaras, he obtains cows by the thousands.

A man who performs it under Revatī would obtain much silver;

under the Aśvinīs, excellent horses; under Bharaṇī, supreme life.

Performing this rule of śrāddha, Śaśabindu

obtained this entire earth without hardship, and having obtained it, ruled it.

A vessel of silver or smeared with silver is spoken of for the ancestors;

mention of silver, seeing it, and also the giving [of it]—

a gift of silver is spoken of as leading to heaven, unending, and imperishable.

By means of that gift to the ancestors, virtuous sons deliver them.

It is always recited with restraint at the śrāddha by teachers of the Veda.

For anciently the svadhā was milked into this silver vessel by the ancestors,

because the earth [was taken] for imperishability; hence what is given in it is imperishable.

The presence, sight, and gift of a black buckskin

destroys demons, yields Vedic splendour, and delivers animals and sons.

A gold vessel, a silver vessel, a daughter’s son, a kutapa blanket, sesame seeds,

and a goat are purifying things, as are a triple-staffed ascetic and yogins.

This is the foremost, eternal rule in the rite of śrāddha, O brahmin;

it increases lifespan, vigour, renown, fame, wisdom, and progeny.

In the south-eastern direction one should establish the place for the sacrificial altar:

measuring a cubit on all sides, four-sided, and well enclosed.

According to rule, I will describe the place of the ancestors according to the scriptures.

bringing prosperity, long life, and health, and increasing strength and fame.

There, three pits are to be made, and three khadira wood staffs;

they should measure a cubit and be adorned with silver.

Those pits should be a span long and four finger-breadths on every side,

and made extending from east to south, firm and free from hollows.

Being pure, one should continually flood [them] with water purified by straining-grass,

and [perform] purification with goat milk and cow milk, and with mantras.

For this is a constant libation, and their satisfaction becomes eternal;

and here and in the hereafter [he becomes] prosperous, endowed with all desires.

He who, having bathed at the three junctures of the day, thus worships, always restrained,

with the mantra, duly and properly, obtains the fruit of an aśvamedha.

For they are known as the thrice-seven, and by them the three worlds are upheld.

For him there is strength, then sovereignty, long life, and lineage;

and he shines in heaven with fortune, and gradually attains liberation.

It dispels evil, purifies, and gains the fruit of an aśvamedha;

therefore I will speak the mantra, immortal and equal to brahman:

“To the deities and to the ancestors, and to the great yogins,

homage, to svadhā and svāhā, homage, homage forever!”

At the beginning and at the end of a śrāddha, one should always recite [it] three times.

For this fruit of an aśvamedha is honored and worshipped by brahmins.

And at the offering of the balls of rice, collected in mind, one should recite it just so.

The ancestors arrive swiftly, and the rākṣasas flee.

This mantra belongs to the ancestors in the three worlds, and indeed it carries one across,

when recited always at a śrāddha by self-controlled expounders of brahman.

One desiring kingship should always recite this mantra without sloth,

increasing vigor, heroism, wealth, intellect, fortune, long life, and fame.

By which recitation and observance the ancestors are pleased,

that auspicious hymn of seven verses, bestowing all desires, I will proclaim:

“To the formless and the embodied ancestors of blazing splendor,

to those meditators who possess the eye of yoga, I always bow.

The ancestors of Indra and the others, and of Dakṣa and Mārīca,

and the ancestors of the seven seers—to those wish-granting ones I bow.

And to the progenitors of Manu and the others, who are revered by all worlds—

having bowed to all those ancestors of the waters and the ocean,

and those who are the ancestors of the lunar mansions, planets, wind, and fire,

and of heaven and earth, I always bow with folded hands.

To the progenitors of the divine seers, revered by all the worlds—”

and endowed with the rite, O king, a fortunate man should do this—

“to the assemblers of all the worlds, the grandfathers, I bow.

To Prajāpati, of the cows, of fire, and to Soma and to Yama,

and to the lords of yoga, with folded hands I always bow.

Homage to the seven groups of ancestors that have been celebrated!

I bow to the self-born Brahmā, who possesses the eye of yoga.”

And this seven-verse hymn has been declared, revered by the hosts of divine seers;

for it is the supreme purifier, prosperous, and a destroyer of demons.

Engaged in this rite, a man obtains three boons,

endowed with supreme devotion, full of faith, having conquered his senses.

And he who always recites the seven-verse hymn with a concentrated mind

shall become the sole ruler of the earth with its seven continents and oceans.

Homage to that self-born one by whom this ritual was proclaimed,

and to the great lords of yoga I am always bowed down.

The ancestors dwell as deities in heaven for the gods, dear friend;

stationed always in these seven places, the ancestors are imperishable.

These sons of Prajāpati belong to all the great-souled ones:

the first group belongs to the yogins, eternal, increasing yoga;

the second to the deities, and the third to the dānavas and others,

who have attained the dharma of the yuga, following the dharma of yoga;

and the rest are to be known as belonging to the castes; thus all are proclaimed.

He who gratifies the ancestors with devotion, the ancestors gratify him;

the pleased ancestors bestow offspring, and likewise strength.

svargam āyuṣyam ārogyaṃ yad anyad api vāñchitam

devakāryād api mune pitṛkāryaṃ praśasyate

devatānāṃ hi pitaraḥ pūrvam āyatanaṃ smṛtam

te suprasādāḥ suprītā lokasyāpyāyanaṃ param

sthiraprasādāś ca sadā tān namasyasva bhārgava