History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v3.c38.25

v3.c38.25

*Baliharaṇa* or *Bhūtayajña*:—Here also there is some divergence between the ancient gṛhya-sūtras and medieval and modern practice. The Āśv. gṛ. I. 2. 3-11 deals with this. The deities to whom bali (or part of the food taken out when performing vaiśvadeva) is offered are: to the same deities to whom the devayajña is offered as stated above, to the waters, to herbs and trees, to the house, to the domestic deities, to the deities of the ground (on which the house is built), to Indra and Indra's men, to Yama and Yama's men, to Varuṇa and Varuṇa's men, to Soma and Soma's men (these are offered in the several quarters¹⁷⁷⁷), to Brahman and Brahman's men in the middle, to the Viśve-devas, to all day-walking beings, to the Rakṣases—towards the north; *svadhā* to the pitṛs (Manes)—with these words he should pour out the remnant of the food to the south, while wearing the sacred thread suspended over the right shoulder. Āśv. adds that if *baliharaṇa* is performed by night then the words 'to all night-walking beings' are used instead of 'to all day-walking beings'.