History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c72.140

v5.c72.140

Just as sapiṇḍas of the same gotra and samānodakas were bound to offer water to the deceased, a person was bound to offer water to his maternal grandfather and to the two further ancestors and to his ācārya on their death. Every man, if he so desired (i. e. he was under no religious duty), could offer water to his friend, to his married sister or daughter, to his sister's son, father-in-law and his sacrificial priest on their death (Pār. gr. III. 10, Śaṅkha-Likhita, Yāj. ⁵¹⁹ III. 4) Pāraskara (III. 10) refers to a peculiar practice. When the sapiṇḍas are about to enter water for bathing and thereafter offering water to the deceased they pray to their relatives or brother-in-law for water with the words 'we shall perform udakakriyā', where-upon the other replies 'do so but don't come again (with a similar request),' if the deceased was less than one hundred years of age, but the reply would be simply 'do so' if the deceased was hundred years of age or more.⁵²⁰ The G. P. S. (I, 4. 4–6) has a somewhat similar symbolic dialogue. A king's officer, a *sagotra* or a brother-in-law takes a branch having thorns and prevents them from entering water with the words 'don't enter'; then the sapindas should reply 'we shall not again enter water'. The probable significance of this was that they thereby would be able to escape from another death in the family soon after.