History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c73.155

v5.c73.155

Very learned disquisitions are held in Aparārka p. 465 ff, Hemādri p. 313 ff and other writers and digests as to the meaning of *aparāhna* which is the time for śrāddha prescribed by Manu (III. 278). There are several views. Some hold that the part of the day after noon is 'after-noon.' The word '*pūrvāhna*' occurs in Ṛg. X. 34. 11. Others relying on a śruti⁸⁴⁴ text 'The forenoon is for gods, mid-day for men and afternoon for pitṛs' hold that the third part of the day divided into three parts is '*aparāhna*.' A third view is that aparāhna is the 4th part of the day divided into five parts and they rely⁸⁴⁵ on Śat. Br. II. 2. 3 9. The five parts are called *prātaḥ*, *saṅgava*, *madhyandina* (or madhyāhna), *aparāhna* and *sāyāhna* (or sāyam or astagamana). The first three are expressly mentioned even in the Ṛgveda V. 76. 3 Prajāpati-smṛti (verses 156-157) says that each of these five parts extends over three *muhūrtas* (the day being divided into fifteen muhūrtas). It further states that *kutapa* is the 8th muhūrta from sunrise and that śrāddha should be begun in *kutapa* and should not last beyond Rauhiṇa muhūrta and that five muhūrtas (from 8th to 12th) are the maximum time for śrāddha.⁸⁴⁶ The word kutapa has eight meanings as noted by the Sm. C. (śrāddha) p. 433 and Hemādri on śrāddha p. 320. The word is derived from '*ku*' meaning 'condemned' (i. e. sin) and '*tapa*' means 'what burns.' The eight⁸⁴⁷ meanings of 'kutapa' are 'midday, a vessel of rhinoceros horn, woollen seat or blanket from Nepal), silver, darbhas, sesame, cows and daughter's son.' The general rule is that śrāddhas are performed in the afternoon (but this applies to śrāddha on New moon, Mahālaya, Aṣṭakā and Anvaṣṭakā śrāddhas), while Vṛddhiśrāddha and śrāddha in which only corn is offered (āmaśrāddha) are performed in the morning. Medhātithi on Manu III. 245 quotes a smṛti text on this.⁸⁴⁸ The Trikāṇḍamaṇḍana (II. 150, 162) provides that when it is not possible to perform a religious rite at the time prescribed for it as appropriate, it should be performed at some other time thereafter and that, between the proper time of a rite and the means, the former is to be preferred and one should not wait for a time later than the proper one with the desire of being able to collect all the principal materials.848a