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Garudapurana 1.99

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1.99.1

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,

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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,

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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,

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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,

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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,

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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,

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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,

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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.

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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'.

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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,

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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'.

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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,

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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].

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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,

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

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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',

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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.

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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,

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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,

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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—

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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,

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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.

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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,

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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.

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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].

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

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

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

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

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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;

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

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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.

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