Skandapurana 5.220

Bhartṛyajña said: / For this reason, O king, on that day / no one ever offers a śrāddha intended for the ancestors, / out of fear of the destruction of their lineage, O king; this is the truth spoken by me.

Even without a śrāddha, on that day milk-rice cooked with honey / and with clarified butter should be given to the foremost of brahmins for the sake of satisfaction.

Rhinoceros flesh, kālaśāka, or meat coming from a vādhrīṇasa / should be given to the brahmins; it has been universally declared thus.

One that drinks thrice, whose senses are decayed, and who follows the whole herd— / such is declared to be a vādhrīṇasa, always bestowing satisfaction upon the ancestors.

In the absence of that, unexcelled milk-rice should be given / to the priests on that day for the gratification of the ancestors, O king.

Even in the absence of that, water mixed with sesame seeds should be given, / with darbha grass, with gold, and accompanied by fragments of gold.

Whatever benefit accrues to a man by the fortnight-śrāddha, O king, / all that entire fruit [is attained] when it is performed on that day, O king,

intended for the ancestors, with clarified butter, with honey, and with milk-rice, / or with kālaśāka, with honey, and with rhinoceros flesh, O king.

This is an ancient Vedic text: even without a [full] śrāddha, when [water] is given, / therefore with every effort, when the ancestral constellation has arrived, / on the thirteenth day of the month of Nabhasya, when the lord of day is in Hasta,

even a poor man should offer water joined with sesamum seeds / and accompanied by small pieces of gold, O king, if he desires the satisfaction of the ancestors. // 6.221.10

Ānarta said: / Since meat is condemned in scripture, O brahmin, / on what account then is it used in a śrāddha? Tell me all this. // 11

The merciless one who increases his own flesh with the flesh of another / surely goes to hell: this has been declared by the great seers. // 12

And you proclaim its power to me, O best of the twice-born, / especially in the rite of śrāddha; therefore this is my doubt. // 13

Bhartṛyajña said: / This is true, O fortunate one: meat is condemned by the virtuous. / Why it is employed in a śrāddha, that reason I shall tell you. // 14

When creation was begun by Brahmā, the maker of the worlds, / having worshiped the ancestors and the gods preceded by the Nāndīmukhas, / then the rhinoceros was brought forth first, and also the vādhrīṇasa. // 15

Then those ancestors who are divine and those born of human origin, / they all seized them then as their own offering. // 16

Then Brahmā said to them: 'These two, O ancestors, / have been properly appointed by me as an offering for you; accept them! // 17

From these two, supreme gratification will arise for you. / By my word, beyond doubt, a man on earth [who offers] these two // 18

will not incur sin at all, even though killing for your sake. / Therefore, with every effort, it must be given by one who desires prosperity. // 19

The meat derived from the rhinoceros and the vādhrīṇasa gives great satisfaction in a śrāddha, / and those two supreme divine beings shall go to the heavenly world. // 6.221.20

The giver of the śrāddha will obtain supreme, rare benefit, / and the satisfaction of the ancestors will be inexhaustible for twelve years. // 21

For this reason, the meat from these two is praised, O ruler of men; / its employment is stated for that day, and not anywhere else.' // 22

Rohitāśva said: / For one who has not obtained rhinoceros meat or that of a vādhrīṇasa, / how can there be a śrāddha that brings satisfaction to the ancestors, O brahmin? // 23

Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Milk-rice should be given together with honey for the gratification of the ancestors; / indeed, through that, satisfaction for a year is produced for the ancestors. // 24

Goat meat, O king, and meat derived from a dolphin / are proclaimed to bring satisfaction for a year minus one month. // 25

In its absence, the meat of a wild boar gives satisfaction for ten months / to the ancestors, O great king; there is no doubt in this. // 26

From [the meat] of a wild buffalo there would be satisfaction for nine months, / and that from a ruru deer lasts eight months, and from a blackbuck seven months. // 27

From an elk, six months; and from a hare, five; / four are declared from a porcupine, or three from a partridge; // 28

and two months from fish; one month in the case of a kapiñjala bird. / One should not employ the meat of others in ancestral rites in any way. // 29

Only the meats of these are purifying, O best of kings. // 6.221.30

Ānarta said: / Why should these, whose meat is prescribed / in a śrāddha, be pure? Explain that to me properly, O best of the twice-born. // 31

Bhartṛyajña said: / As he was making creation, the animals were created / after the rhinoceros, the vādhrīṇasa, and the rest, by that self-manifest maker of the worlds. // 32

Then others [were created], O best of kings, according to a measure of eleven; / and the goat was created first, and thus it attained sacrificial fitness. // 33

Thus these animals were created first here, O ruler of men. / As he was creating crops, sesamum seeds were fashioned first. // 34

Rice was created for the sake of śrāddha, and priyaṅgu among wild grains, / and wheat, and barley, and black gram, and mung beans, O king; // 35

and wild rice and millet; I will explain them in order. / They desire satisfaction through meat, [yet] meat is devoid of meat. // 36

When species of flowers were created, the rose was created / first by him, and it is principal in the śrāddha rite at all times. // 37

As he was creating metals, silver was created by the self-manifest [creator]; / therefore it was ordained in the śrāddha as the priestly fee for complete satisfaction. // 38

And whatever is given to brahmins in silver vessels, / for the ancestors, the end of that does not occur even at the end of an age. // 39

In the absence of silver vessels, one should even utter the name [of silver], / since the ancestors are pleased, O king, even by the mere uttering. // 6.221.40

And as he was creating tastes, honey was created by the self-manifest [creator]; / therefore it is praised in a śrāddha as bestowing satisfaction on the ancestors. // 41

The śrāddha that is devoid of honey, even if endowed with all flavors / and with sweet foods, does not bring satisfaction to the ancestors. // 42

If there should not be even a tiny drop of honey in the śrāddha, / one should even utter its name, since that is for the satisfaction of the ancestors. // 43

As he was creating vegetables, by that Brahmā, the supreme lord, / kālaśāka was created first; therefore it bestows satisfaction. // 44

Creating time, kutapa was fashioned by him first; / therefore, at the time of kutapa a śrāddha should be performed by a discerning person / who desires perpetual satisfaction for the ancestors and happiness for himself. // 45

As he was creating plants, by that creator, O best of kings, / darbha grass was created first; therefore it is remembered as fit for a śrāddha. // 46

As he was creating brahmins worthy of a śrāddha, by that lotus-born [creator] / daughters' sons were created first; therefore they are remembered as fit for a śrāddha. // 47

Even if devoid of purity, or having deficient or redundant limbs, / a daughter's son should be employed in a śrāddha for the complete satisfaction of the ancestors. // 48

As he was bringing forth animals, cows were fashioned by him first; / therefore their milk is praised in a śrāddha, especially clarified butter. // 49

Therefore, clarified butter offered in a śrāddha is praised for the satisfaction of the ancestors. // 6.221.50

And creating creatures, he first beheld the best of the twice-born. / Therefore, they are commended at a śrāddha, ever satisfying the ancestors.

And creating the gods, he first brought forth the Viśvedevas. / Therefore, they are to be worshiped first when the rite of śrāddha begins.

Then, properly gratified, they protect the śrāddha; / worshiped beforehand at a śrāddha, they destroy defects.

With these foremost beings created long ago, the śrāddha was instituted / by the Grandfather himself; then the gods were created.

Therefore, O king, they attained renown in all the worlds in ancient times.

This essential nature of the śrāddha has been proclaimed to you by me, / the supreme secret of the ancestors, rendering what is given imperishable.

And whoever recites this while a śrāddha is being performed, O best of kings, / before the brahmins who wish to eat, that śrāddha of his becomes imperishable.

And whoever hears this, O king, endowed with complete faith, / obtains the merit that comes from a properly performed śrāddha.

Thus ends the two hundred and twenty-first chapter, entitled 'The Description of the Enumeration of Articles Fit for a Śrāddha Created by Brahmā at the Time of the Beginning of Creation,' in the Śrāddhakalpa of the Hāṭakeśvarakṣetra-māhātmya, in the sixth book, the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Skandapurāṇa, the great Purāṇa in eighty-one thousand verses.