Vishnupurana 3.14.p2

3.14.p2

"He, who after having offered food and libations to the manes bathes in the Ganges, Satlaj, Vipasa, Saraswati or the Gomati at Naimisha, is freed from all sins. The manes also sing—'After having obtained gratification for a twelve month we shall derive further satisfaction by libations offered by our descendants at some place of pilgrimage at the end of the dark fortnight of Māgha'. (The songs of Pitris) confer upon men purity of mind, prosperity, prosperous seasons, perfect rites and firm faith and all other things which they desire. Hear, O king, I shall repeat some verses as sung by the manes, hearing which, you will follow them with a controlled mind. 'That wise man who does not shrink from spending his wealth and presents us with cakes shall be born in an illustrious family. He should, if he is rich, give to Brāhmans in our honour, jewels, cloths, land, conveyances, wealth and various other eatables. If he not got so much wealth he should feed with faith and humility excellent Brāhmans according to his means. If he cannot afford to give them food even he should according his might, present them with unboiled grain or with some gifts however trifling they may be. Should he be utterly unable even to do this, O king, he must give to some excellent Brahmin, bowing before him sesamum-seeds, adhering to the tips of his fingers. Or he should sprinkle water mixed with seven or eight sesamum seeds to us upon the ground; or he should gather, as he may, fodder for a day and give it to a cow, by which he will, if firm in faith, give us satisfaction. And if it is impossible for him to go through any of these he should go to a forest raise up his arms to the sun and other planets and say aloud—'I have no money, nor property nor grain nor any thing whatever which I may give as an offering to my ancestors. So I reverentially bow unto my ancestors; may they be propitiated with my devotion only—I throw up my arms in the air.' These are the words of the progenitors. O king, he who endeavours to satisfy their desires, performs the ancestral rite called Srāddha".