History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c73.t1.468

v5.c73.t1.468

Yāj. (I. 254) and Mārkaṇḍeya (28. 17-18) provide that Ekoddiṣṭa and Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa śrāddhas are performed for women also (but, not pārvaṇa nor ābhyudayika). About the Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa of the mother there are somewhat conflicting dicta. If a woman dies sonless and her husband is alive, her sapiṇḍana is effected with her mother-in-law (Gobhilasmṛti II. 102). If a woman dies leaving no son and the husband also is dead, then no sapiṇḍana can be performed for her. If she died either on the funeral pyre of her husband¹¹⁷⁴ or afterwards (as a *Satī*) then her son should perform her sapiṇḍana with her husband (i. e. the son’s father) and there is no separate sapiṇḍana for her. If she was married in the *āsura* form or she was made a *putrikā*, then the son should perform his mother’s sapiṇḍana with his maternal grandfather; while a son born of a woman married in the *Brāhma* and three other proper forms may perform her sapiṇḍana with her husband or the paternal grandmother or the maternal grandfather. In the case of these three alternatives if there is a certain family usage that should be followed; otherwise there is an option. If a woman has a step-son, the latter should perform her sapiṇḍana with his father, as Manu IX. 183 (= Vas. 17. 11) indicates. Vide the Mit on Yāj I. 253-254 and Sm. C. (on āśauca p 169) for discussion of these points and for various alternatives¹¹⁷⁵