Manava Dharmashastra 3.87

3.87

pūrveṇa yādṛśe deyaṃ tatpātramuktam | anenāpātre dadataḥ pratiṣedhaḥ | naśyanti niṣphalāni bhavanti | havyāni devatoddeśena yāni brāhmaṇabhojanādīni kriyante | pitryakarmāṅgabhūtānyanyāni kavyāni śrāddhāni | bhasmabhūteṣu | bhasmatāṃ prāptā bhasmabhūtāḥ | upamāne vā 'bhūta'śabdaḥ, 'bhasmānīva', yathā 'kāṣṭhabhūta' iti | "kiṃ punarhasmanā sāmyam" | yathā tanna kvacidupayujyate'vakararūpamapohyamevamīdṛśo brāhmaṇaḥ kriyābhyo'pohitavya iti tātparyārthaḥ | narāṇāmavijānatāṃ naśyantīti sambandhaḥ | mohāddattāni dātṛbhiḥ | avijānatāṃ mohāditi cānuvādaḥ | yacchāstreṇāpohitaṃ tanmohādeva kriyate |
kīdṛśāḥ punarabhasmabhūtāstānāha

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
The preceding verse has described the person to whom presents are to be made; the present verse proceeds to prohibit the giving of presents to unqualified persons.

‘Become lost’—become fruitless.

‘Rites in honour of the gods’—Such acts as the feeding of Brāhmaṇas and the like, which are done in honour of the gods.

‘Rites in honour of the Pitṛs’—those that form part of the acts done in honour of one’s ancestors; i.e., Śrāddhas.

‘Ash-like—those who hav become ashes are called ‘bhasmabhūta. Or, the term ‘bhūta’ may mean similarity; hence the word ‘bhasmabhūta’ means ‘ash-like;’ just as in the compound ‘kāṣṭhabhūta.’

“What is the point of similarity between ash and the Brāhmaṇas?”

The meaning is that, just as the ash is of no use, and is mere refuse and deserves only to be thrown away, so the Brāhmaṇa in question is to be removed from all religious functions.

‘Made by ignorant men’— this is to be construed with ‘become lost.’

‘Presented by givers through folly’—‘ignorant’ and ‘folly’ are only re-iterations. Anything that is prohibited in the scriptures is done only through folly.

The next, verse proceeds to point out the danger in connection with the act of ‘giving’ enjoined above.—(96).

The next verse describes what sort of Brāhmaṇas are not ‘ash-like.’—(97)