Garudapurana 1.99

The auspicious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa — [Chapter] 99
Yājñavalkya said:
Now I shall declare the rite of śrāddha that destroys all sins:
The new-moon day, the aṣṭakās, an occasion of growth, the dark fortnight, the two solstices,

the availability of materials and brāhmaṇas, the equinox, the sun's ingress into a zodiac sign,
the vyatīpāta yoga, the gajacchāyā conjunction, eclipses of the moon and sun,

and the desire for a śrāddha—these are declared to be the times for śrāddha.
A preeminent brāhmaṇa among all deities, one learned in the Veda, young,

who knows the meaning of the Vedas, sings the Jyeṣṭhasāman, knows the Trimadhu and Trisuparṇa,
a sister's son, an officiating priest, a son-in-law, one who performs sacrifices, a father-in-law, a maternal uncle,

one who has kept the Triṇāciketa fire, a daughter's son, a pupil, relatives, kinsmen,
those devoted to rites, those devoted to austerities, keepers of the five fires, and celibate students,

and those devoted to father and mother—such brāhmaṇas are deities of the śrāddha.
A diseased person, one with deficient or surplus limbs, a one-eyed man, the son of a remarried woman,

one who has broken his vow of celibacy and the like, those who are devoid of proper conduct,
and all those who are not Vaiṣṇavas, are never fit for a śrāddha.

One should invite them on the preceding day, and the twice-born must remain restrained. / Having their feet washed in the forenoon, he should seat them upon their seats.

An even number for the gods and likewise for the ancestral rites in their respective places, according to one's capacity: / two facing east for the divine, three facing north for the ancestral, or one for each separately.

The same applies to the maternal grandfathers, or the Vaiśvadeva rite may be performed together. / Having given water for washing the hands, and kuśa grass for a seat,

and having invoked [them], permitted by them, with the verse 'O Viśvedevas', / he should scatter food along with barley into a vessel containing a strainer.

Having poured water with the verse 'May the waters be auspicious to us', and barley with 'You are barley', / he should cast it directly into their hands with the mantra 'You are divine'.

Along with perfumed water, [he offers] a lamp, a garland of flowers, and an illumination. / Then, wearing the sacred thread over the right shoulder, circumambulating to the left for the ancestors,

and offering double-folded kuśa grass, having invoked the ancestors with the verse 'Desiring you', / permitted by them, he should then chant 'May they come to us'.

The purpose of barley should be served with sesame seeds, and he should perform the arghya offering and the rest as before. / Having offered the arghya and put their residual drops into a vessel according to rule,

he turns the vessel upside down with the mantra 'You are a place for the ancestors'. / Saying 'I shall offer into the fire', taking food soaked in clarified butter, he asks [their permission].

When told 'Do so', having offered into the fire as in an ancestral sacrifice, / he should attentively place the remainder of the offering into the vessels,

in vessels obtained according to means, especially silver ones. / Having served the food, consecrating the vessel with 'The earth is your vessel',

and saying 'This is Viṣṇu', he should dip the thumb of the twice-born [into the food]. / Having recited the Gāyatrī with the sacred utterances, and the verses 'May the winds blow sweet',

he should say 'Eat at your pleasure', and they too should eat while keeping silent. / Being free from anger and without haste, he should give delicious and sacrificial food.

Until they are satisfied, chanting the purificatory verses and likewise the previous recitation, / taking the food, he asks 'Are you satisfied?' and having consecrated the remnant,

he should scatter that food on the ground and offer water once and once again. / Taking all the food mixed with sesame seeds, facing south,

he should offer the piṇḍas near the remnants of the meal as in an ancestral sacrifice. / He should do likewise for the maternal grandfathers, and then offer sipping water.

Then he should utter the benediction and offer inexhaustible water. / And having given a sacrificial fee according to his capacity, he should pronounce the svadhā-call.

Permitted with 'Let it be spoken', he says 'Let svadhā be spoken to the ancestors'. / Being told by the brāhmaṇas 'Let there be svadhā', he should then sprinkle water on the ground.

Saying 'May they be pleased', offering water for the Viśvedevas, [he prays:] / 'May our donors increase, and so too the Vedas and our progeny!

May faith not depart from us, and may we have much to give!' / Having spoken these agreeable words and bowed low, he should dismiss them.

With the verse 'In every contest', he gladly performs the dismissal, beginning with the ancestors. / The vessel in which those residual drops of the arghya were previously poured—

having turned that ancestral vessel upright, he should dismiss the brāhmaṇas. / Having followed them in circumambulation, he should eat what was enjoyed by the ancestors.

He should remain celibate for that night together with his wife. / Having thus performed circumambulation, at an auspicious rite he should also worship the Nāndīmukha ancestors.

He should worship them with piṇḍas mixed with jujubes and prepared with barley. / The rite for a single deceased person is devoid of the divine rite, has one portion of food, and one strainer.

It is devoid of the invocation and the offering into fire, but is done with the sacred thread over the right shoulder. / In place of the inexhaustible water, saying 'May it reach [him]', he should dismiss the brāhmaṇas.

He should say 'May you be pleased', and they should say 'We are pleased'. / He should prepare four vessels mixed with perfumed water and sesame seeds.

For the purpose of arghya, he should pour the vessel for the newly deceased into the vessels for the ancestors, / with the two verses 'Those who are equal', and perform the rest as before.

This is the sapiṇḍīkaraṇa rite; a rite for a single deceased person is also for a woman. / For one whose sapiṇḍīkaraṇa occurs before a full year,

the twice-born should also give him food with a water pot for one year, / and should give piṇḍas to a cow, a goat, or brāhmaṇas, or cast them into fire or water.

With sacrificial food indeed for a month, but with rice-milk porridge for a year; / with the flesh of fish, deer, rams, birds, goats, and spotted deer,

and with the flesh of the black antelope, the ruru deer, boar, and hare in order, / the ancestors here are pleased for an increasing number of months when they are offered.

One should offer on the thirteenth lunar day of the rainy season and under the Maghā asterism without doubt. / Thus, starting from the first lunar day, one who offers śrāddha in Virgo and the other signs obtains [fruits].

For those slain by weapons, however, the offering is made on the fourteenth lunar day. / [He obtains] heaven, progeny, vigor, heroism, land, and strength,

the preeminence of sons, good fortune, prosperity, primacy, auspiciousness, / unimpeded authority, and success in trade and other pursuits,

freedom from disease, fame, freedom from sorrow, the highest state, / wealth, learning, perfection of speech, base metal, cattle, goats, and sheep,

horses, and long life. The one who duly performs the śrāddha / under the lunar mansions from Kṛttikā to Bharaṇī obtains these desires.

The brāhmaṇas pleased with garments and other gifts surely bless the man who performs the śrāddha / with long life, offspring, wealth, learning, heaven, liberation, and happiness;

and the grandfather constantly bestows kingdom with pleasure, as desired.

Thus ends the ninety-ninth chapter, entitled 'Determination of the Rules of Śrāddha Spoken by Yājñavalkya', in the Ācārakāṇḍa of the first part of the first section in the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa.