History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.t2.278
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.t2.278
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v5.c74.t2.278.1
There are several works, printed and in mss , that deal with the procedure of Gayāśrāddha. There is the Gayāśrāddha-paddhati of Vācaspati printed at the Chandraprabha press, Benares city, the Tīrtha-yātrā-tattva of Raghunandana (which contains a Gayā- paddhati) published in Bengali characters. Then I consulted two mss. viz the Gayā-śrāddha-paddhati of Raghunātha son of Mādhava (D. C. ms. No. 93 of 1891–95) and the Gayāśrāddha-vidhi of Vācaspati (D. C No 245 of 1887–91). The procedure in the Tīrthayātrā-tattva of Raghunandana is set out here briefly without actually citing in full the Vāyupurāṇa passages which it quotes profusely. Raghunandana appears to follow the Tīrthacintāmaṇi closely as some of the notes will show. After the pilgrim enters Gayā he should first make an appropriate saṅkalpa¹⁵²¹ for a bath in Phalgu, take the clay from the river, apply it to his body and bathe Then he should perform *tarpaṇa*¹⁵²² to the twelve male and female ancestors (specified in note 1516 above) Then he should declare a saṅkalpa that he would perform Gayāśrāddha with the words 'Oṃ! adyetyādi Gayātīrthaprāpti-nimittaka-śrāddhamaham kariṣye'. Then he should perform a *pārvaṇa-śrāddha* (described above pp. 485–505) excepting the *āvāhana* and *arghya* rites If the pilgrim be unable to perform all the details of śrāddha, he may offer only piṇḍas.
v5.c74.t2.278.2
Then on the same day he should go to the Pretaśilā which adjoins the west bank of the river Phalgu and is to the north of Gayā and perform srāddha there as follows: he should perform the purification of the ground, sit down on it, perform ācamana, face the south, wear the sacred thread in the *apasavya* form, recite the verses (Vāyu 110 10-12 'Kavyavālo...śrāddhenānena śāśvatīm), contemplate on his pitṛs, perform prāṇāyāma, sprinkle water on the materials for srāddha after remembering Puṇḍarīkākṣa (Viṣṇu), make the saṅkalpa (set out in note 1516). He should go through the whole procedure of srāddha up to the payment of dakṣiṇā to brāhmaṇas. After this he should sit to the south of the altar (where he performed the śrāddha), should wear the sacred thread in the *apasavya* form, face the south, place on the ground three *kuśas* and after reciting the *mantra* (Vāyu 110. 10–12) should make an invocation once in the form of offering an *añjali* of water mixed with sesame, then honour the father with *pādya* (water for washing the feet), recite the two verses (Vāyu 110. 20-21 'ā brahma.. tilodakam' with *om* prefixed), perform invocation as before of the father and others with water in folded hands and should offer a piṇḍa to his father of pāyasa or other material mixed with sesame, water and honey with the words 'Om, adya amuka-gotra pitar-amukadevaśarman, eṣa te piṇḍaḥ svadhā'. In this way he should offer piṇḍa to the remaining eleven devatās, viz.
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paternal grandfather and others (or eight or five according to usage). He should donate a fee according to his means. Then he should sit to the south of the place he so far occupied, spread on the ground kuśas having roots but with tips turned to the south, should repeat the mantras (Vāyu 110 10-12), perform on those kuśas once an invocation in the form of an añjali of water mixed with sesame, repeat the two verses (Vāyu 110. 22-23 'Pitā pitāmaha...mupatiṣṭhatām' with om prefixed ) and should offer one piṇḍa made of one handful of barley flour mixed with sesame, kuśas, ghee, curds, water and honey to all the twelve devatās (ancestors) together. Then follows what is called Ṣoḍaśīkarma, which is as follows. Nineteen spots for piṇḍas should be made (each to the south of the preceding) and should be smeared with pañcagavya one after another; then he should spread over each kuśas with their tips to the south, should invoke on the kuśas the persons intended with the mantras (Vāyu 110. 30-32 'asmat-kule mṛtā... tilodakaiḥ'), should worship them by offering sandalwood paste and the rest, (and if he is performing the rite of ṣoḍaśī on a spot sacred to a specific deity then worship that deity also with an appropriate mantra), should then offer once as before an añjali of water mixed with sesame and offer piṇḍas beginning from the first spot, each piṇḍa being offered after reciting each of the 19 mantras (Vāyu 110. 34-55, omitting 110.44 'asipatra o', 110.
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46 'anekayātanā-saṃsthāḥ ye nītā o', and treating 52-53 as one mantra and 54-55 as one mantra). He should offer 19 piṇḍas