Manava Dharmashastra 3.184.2

3.184.2

yaḥ kaścitpitṛdveṣyādindrye karmaṇyupahṛtabuddhiranādaravānsyāttasya pravṛttyarthamidamārabhyate | maivaṃ maṃsthāḥ 'mṛtamanuṣyarūpāḥ pitaraḥ, ye na tarpitāḥ, śrāddhe kaṃ doṣaṃ kariṣyanti, tarpitā vā kaṃ guṇamiti' | yata ete mahāprabhāvāḥ | sarvasya jagataḥ prabhurhiraṇyagarbhastasya putro manuḥ tasyaite pautrāḥ | ata eva ṛṣīṇāṃ cetyucyate | na manorye kecidanye putrāḥ, kiṃtarhi ṛṣayaste ca prathitaprabhāvāḥ marīcyādayaḥ | teṣāṃ putrāḥ 'pitaraḥ' | bahuvidhāśca pratipattāro ya etādṛśebhyo'rthavādavākyebhyaḥ pravarttantetarāmū | ye ca vyācakṣate-‘‘somapādivṛṣṭiḥ pitṛṣu kartavyeti’’-te pramāṇābhāvādupekṣaṇīyāḥ | na hi yathā''ditye brahmadṛṣṭirupadiśyate evamiha tādṛśaṃ kiṃcana vacanamasti | ye'pyāhuḥ ‘‘gṛhītvā gotranāmanī pitṛbhyo dadyāditi, taccaitadgotraṃ somapāḥ ityādivarṇabhedena’’ | tadapyayuktam | nāmanirdeśo'yaṃ na gotranirdeśaḥ, somapānāmitiśravaṇāt | ‘‘gotranāmadheyatve'pi nāmaśabda upapadyata eveti’’ cet | evaṃ tarhi gotranirdeśe vaiyadhikaraṇyaṃ syāt, ‘pitṝṇāṃ somapā gotramiti’, na tu pitaraḥ somapā iti | ‘‘athābhedopacāreṇa gotreṇa santānavyapadeśo dṛṣṭa ityucyate | yathā babhrurmanduriti |’’ atrocyate | idamīha nirūpyaṃ kimetadgotraṃ nāma |

Hence, the conclusion is, that the present verse proceeds with a view to make those people undertake the performance of Śrāddha who may happen to have no regard for their ancestors, and hence having no inclination for doing any act on their behalf;—the purport being—‘do not you think that the Pitṛs being dead men, what harm could they do if they were not satisfied at the Śrāddha, or what good they could do by being satisfied?—because they are, in reality, beings of tremendous power, being the grandsons of Manu; who is the son of Hiraṇyagarbha, the lord of the whole universe.’ It is for conveying this sense that the text has used the term, ‘of the sages;’ which means that they are not ordinary sons of Manu; it is those great sages, Marīci and the rest, who are known as possessed of great powers; and it is of such sages that the Pitṛs are the sons.

There are many people who would be led to the performance of Śrāddhas, just by means of such laudatory descriptions.

Some people explain the verse to mean that “one should look upon the Pitṛs as Somapa and the rest.

These, however, have to be disregarded; as there is no authority for any such notion. We have no such assertion to this effect, as we have in connection with the propriety of looking at the sun as Brahman.

Others, again, have offered the explanation that, what is meant is, that the rule being that ‘offerings to the Pitṛs should be made after pronouncing their gotra and name,’ and ‘Somapā,’ &c., are just the names that have to be pronounced in connection with the several castes.

This also is not right; since the expression used is “somapā nāma,” ‘by name Somapā,’ these must be names, not gotras.

“But the term ‘name’ would be applicable also when these were names of gotras only.”

If these were the names of gotras, then the two could not be in apposition; the proper form would be, ‘Somapā is the gotra of the Pitṛs,’ and not that ‘the Pitṛs are Somapa.’

“It is often found that the descendant is identified with his gotra, and the name of the latter is applied to the former; e.g, in such expressions as ‘Babhru is Mandu.’”

Our answer to this is as follows:—It has to be considered here what is it that is called ‘gotra,’ As a matter of fact, the ‘gotra’ of a family is its first progenitor who imparts his name to it, being the most renowned person by virtue of his possessing such qualities as learning, opulence, bravery, nobility and the like; and it is after him that the family becomes named. Thus it is that among Brāhmaṇas and others, there are sub-divisious of gotras. The personage whom his descendants remember with such feelings as ‘we are the descendants of such and such a person,’ would thus be the one after which that particular family should be named. As a matter of fact, however, no men are found to think of themselves as being ‘Somapā’ and thus regarding