History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c73.120

v5.c73.120

In the Gobhilagṛhya (IV. 4. 3 ff) another śrāddha called ‘Anvāhārya’ is prescribed after the Piṇḍapitṛyajña on the same day. The Śāṅ. Gṛ. IV. 1. 13 appears also to describe the monthly śrāddha as distinct from the Piṇḍapitṛyajña. Manu (III. 122–23) states: ‘After performing the *Pitṛyajña* (i. e. piṇḍapitṛyajña) a brāhmaṇa who keeps sacred fires shall offer every month on the amāvāsyā day the funeral sacrifice Piṇḍānvāhāryaka.⁸²⁹ The wise call the monthly offering to the Manes Anvāhārya and that must be carefully performed with the approved kinds of flesh mentioned below.’ From this it appears that one who has consecrated the śrauta fires (i. e. an āhitāgni) was to perform the *piṇḍapitṛyajña* in the śrauta fires and also perform the same day another śrāddha after the piṇḍapitṛyajña, while those who had not consecrated śrauta fires were to perform on amāvāsyā a śrāddha in the gṛhya fire, which was called piṇḍānvāhāryaka or simply anvāhārya and also were to offer piṇḍapitṛyajña in smārta fire (vide Sat. Śrauta II. 7. 64 ‘gṛhyāgnau anāhitāgneh’). From inquiries made I learn that nowadays most Agnihotrins (at least in the Deccan) do not perform Piṇḍapitṛyajña at all or perform it only once a year and that no one performs the Piṇḍānvāhāryaka śrāddha. It is further to be noted that in smārta yajñas no one now sacrifices an animal but employs instead māṣa grain and there are *āhitāgnis* who do not offer meat in śrauta sacrifices also, but only piṣṭa-paśu (an effigy of an animal made of flour).