History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c73.t1.571

v5.c73.t1.571

It has been seen above how the most ancient literary monument, viz the Ṛgveda, shows that the funeral rites performed immediately after death were prompted by affectionate concern for the departed spirit mingled with some element of fear, that the object of those rites was to provide sustenance to the departed spirit and to endow it with an intermediate body before it became one of the pitṛs. It has also been found that in the most ancient times of which we have literary evidence, there were rites for the worship of ancestors, being the Piṇḍapitṛyajña performed every month on amāvāsyā, the Mahāpitṛyajña performed in the Śākamedha and the Aṣṭakā śrāddhas. Gradually the rites for deceased ancestors became more and more frequent, all-inclusive and elaborate, so that ultimately an exaggerated importance came to be attached to the cult of śrāddhas over which there was an enormous expenditure of time, effort and wealth. The question now arises what Indians of the 20th century should do about śrāddhas. One finds that in these days when many brāhmaṇas even do not engage in any of the five daily obligatory yajñas (the pañca-yajñas), they are solicitous to offer śrāddha at least once a year to their ancestors. The following may be therefore suggested as a *via media* for all kinds of people. Those who have faith in the duty of performing śrāddhas and their efficacy for the benefit of the dead may perform them on a small scale, bearing in mind the emphatic admonition of Manu (III. 125-126), the Kūrmapurāṇa II. 22. 27, Padmapurāṇa V. 9. 98¹²³⁷ that one should desist from extravagance in the matter of śrāddhas, particularly in the number of brāhmaṇas to be invited. Those whose faith is shaken or shattered by the onrush of modern ideas and English education or firm belief in the doctrines of *karma* and *punarjanma* should also remember one thing. The main underlying conception of śrāddha is certainly admirable, viz. a tender and affectionate regard for one's near and dear relatives. It is a good practice to set apart at least one day in a year for the remembrance of one's near and dear relatives that are no more, to invite relatives, friends, and learned people to a dinner in memory of the dead and to bestow monetary gifts on poor but learned persons of character and devoted to the practice of plain living and high thinking. This will be in keeping with our past traditions and will also give a new orientation to and infuse new life into practices and usages that have become lifeless and meaningless to many people. From very ancient times one of the fundamental conceptions of our faith has been the idea of three debts owed to sages, gods and *pitṛs*. The debt owed to the ancestors is paid off by the procreation of a son who would offer *piṇḍas* to his (and therefore also to his father's) ancestors. This is a grand conception. Nothing can be more sublime than the formula which one has to repeat at the time of offering *piṇḍas* and water (with sesame) at Gayā 'may those of my ancestors that are in the form of *pretas* be all satiated by means of the (balls made) of barley flour mixed with sesame and may everything, whether moving or immoveable from Brahmā up to blades of grass derive satisfaction from the water offered by me.' If the implication of this formula be thoroughly understood and implemented by actual practice, it will make the whole world kin. Therefore, while discarding the heavy accretions accumulated through ages, we Hindus of these days must see to it that we do not throw overboard the gold that lies buried under the crust of ritual and ill-understood ceremonies.