History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.t2.78

v5.c74.t2.78

At most famous tīrthas the pilgrim has to perform śrāddha. The Viṣṇu Dh. S. (chap 85) mentions about fifty-five sacred places which are fittest for śrāddha The Kalpataru (on tīrtha), the Gaṅgāvākyāvalī, Tīr. C. and other digests quote several verses from the Devīpurāṇa, the gist of which is as follows Śrāddha should be performed at tīrthas, but there is no offering of *arghya* and no *āvāhana* (since pitṛs are deemed to be always present at tīrthas, as the Kāsīkhaṇḍa says) nor is the entering of the thumb of the invited brāhmaṇa into the food served done, nor is there the question about the brāhmaṇas being satiated, nor *vikira*¹⁴⁰¹ If one is unable to follow the complete procedure of śrāddha one should merely offer piṇḍas made from barley meal or may offer *saṁyāva* (cake of wheat flour fried with ghee and milk), rice boiled in milk, the cake of sesame (after the oil is extracted) or jaggery ¹⁴⁰² It should not be allowed to be seen by dogs, crows and vultures, it may be offered at any time after the pilgrim reaches the holy place A śrāddha performed at a holy place gives great satisfaction to pitṛs. Some of the works such as the Tristhalīsetusārasaṅgraha of Bhaṭṭoji provide that after performing a pārvaṇaśrāddha at a tīrtha and after making offerings of piṇḍas to one's ancestors one should offer a single piṇḍa to one's other relatives with the following mantra 'Here I offer piṇḍa to deceased persons of my father's family, and of my mother's family and to the deceased relatives of my guru and of my father-in-law, to those men of my family who were devoid of sons or wives and so who would lose the benefit of the piṇḍa (to be offered by the son or wife) and in the case of whom all rites after death have ceased, those who were blind from birth or were cripples, those who were malformed or died in the womb; to all these, whether known or unknown to me, may this (piṇḍa) reach inexhaustively'! (Vāyu 110. 51-52). After this he should offer another piṇḍa for his servants, slaves, friends, dependents, pupils, persons who conferred obligations on him, cattle, trees and those with whom he came in contact in other lives (Vāyu 110. 54-55). If a person is ill or has not the time to go through this elaborate procedure, then he should make a saṅkalpa that he would perform śrāddha and should offer a single piṇḍa with the mantra (in Vāyu 110 23-24) 'I offer this piṇḍa to my father, grand-father, great-grand-father, to my mother, father's mother, grandfather's mother, to my maternal grandfather and to the latter's father and grandfather. May it reach them inexhaustively'!