History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c73.t1.333

v5.c73.t1.333

The Matsyapurāṇa says in a famous passage 'ancestors from the fourth (i. e. the father, grand-father and great-grandfather of the great-grandfather of performer) are entitled only to the wipings of the articles of food (sticking to the hand of the performer of śrāddha); the father, (the grand-father and great-grandfather) are entitled to the piṇḍa; the offerer of the piṇḍa is the 7th; thus *sapiṇḍa* relationship extends to seven generations¹⁰⁸⁶. The Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa states that three ancestors beginning from the paternal grandfather of the paternal grandfather enjoy the wipings (of the hand of the performer when he offers piṇḍas).¹⁰⁸⁷ The Brahma-purāṇa (220. 84-86) has similar verses. Manu provided¹⁰⁸⁸ that the performer should place three piṇḍas on *darbhas* and then wipe off from his hand the particles of food and water sticking to it with the roots of the darbhas (on which the piṇḍas were placed) and that such wipings are meant for those who are called ‘lepabhāgin’ (the three paternal ancestors after the paternal great-grand-father). Similar provisions are made by the Viṣṇu Dh. S. 73.22, Varāhapurāṇa 14.36, Garuḍapurāṇa (Ācārakāṇḍa 218 24), Kūrma II. 22.52. Medhātithi on Manu III. 216 says that even if no food or water sticks to the hand still the performer rubs the hand against the roots of the darbhas on which the first piṇḍa was placed. A special rule was provided by Devala quoted in Śrāddhakalpalatā (p. 14) that if the father or mother became a *mleccha* (by forcible or voluntary conversion &c.) one should not observe any impurity for him or her and no śrāddha should be offered and when offering the three piṇḍas in place of the father the name of Viṣṇu should be uttered.