History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t1.74

v4.c63.t1.74

In H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 560-561 passages from the Ṛgveda, the Tai. S., Śat. Br., Ait. Br., the sūtras and smṛtis emphasizing the importance of a son for the spiritual welfare of a man have been cited. The principal purposes served by the birth of a son are succinctly stated in the Ait. Br. 33. 1. viz. the son enables the father to pay off the debt he owes to his ancestors, to secure immortality (*amṛtatva*) and heavenly worlds. These were the main purposes deemed to be served by a son in most remote times. Manu (IX. 106-107) and Yāj. I. 78 also mention these benefits. The desire was to continue and perpetuate the family (*vaṁśasya avicchedaḥ* as the Mit. has it) and to provide for the performance and preservation of religious *sacra* and offerings. This desire was common in ancient societies almost everywhere. The Śat. Br. XII. 4. 3. 1 (S. B. E. vol. 44 p. 157) states 'the father in later life subsists on the son and the son in early life subsists on the father'. The Nirukta¹²²⁰ (III. 4) quotes a *ṛk* verse 'thou art born from each of the limbs, from the heart (of the father), thou art indeed one's own self called son; mayst though live for a hundred autumns!'. Gradually the idea arose (probably suggested by etymologists) that the son saved the father from the Hell called *put*,¹²²¹ as stated by Manu IX. 138 (= Ādiparva 229. 14 = Viṣṇu Dh. S. 15. 44). The son's close connection with the offering of piṇḍas to the ancestors is not much emphasized in the oldest works. But in the sūtras, in Manu and the other smṛtis this aspect of the benefits derived from the son is far more prominent than the others. In speaking of the putrikāputra Manu (IX. 136) declares 'he should offer piṇḍa' (to his maternal grandfather) and take the latter's wealth. As three descendants (son, grandson and great-grandson) presented piṇḍas to the ancestor, all three had extravagant praises bestowed on them. Manu IX. 137 says: 'a man secures the (higher) worlds through (the birth of) a son, he obtains permanence (in those worlds) through a grandson, through the son of a grandson he wins the world of the Sun'.¹²²² The Viṣṇudharmasūtra 85. 67 declares¹²²³ 'A man should desire to have many sons (with the thought) that some one out of them may go to Gayā or offer the Aśvamedha sacrifice or let loose (in honour of the deceased father) a dark bull'. Bṛ. (q. in Par. M. I. 2 p. 305) states: 'the pitṛs afraid of falling into Hell desire to have sons; (they think) one of them may go to Gayā and that one will save us; he will set at liberty a bull, he may perform sacrifices and execute works of public utility (like tanks, temples and parks), he will take care of us in our old age, he will offer śrāddha day by day'. The Matsyapurāṇa 204 (3–17) contains verses (that are called *pitṛgāthās*, verses sung by pitṛs) which breathe the hankerings of deceased ancestors after what they expect their descendants to do such as offering water in holy rivers, śrāddhas, going to Gayā, gifts of various kinds, construction of tanks, &c.