History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c75.981
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c75.981
- Language
- English
v5.c75.981.1
agnaukaraṇa, piṇḍadānā and feeding of brāhmaṇas are all principal 482, some works lay great emphasis on inviting ascetics or yogins at ś and say that a yogin is superior to a hundred brāhmaṇas 388; some works state that rites for pitṛs deserve pre-eminence over those for the gods 483-484, specific times most proper for performing ś 371, spot chosen for ś should be clean, should slope towards the south, should be cowdunged, covered on all sides and should be unfrequented and not owned by another person 377; śraddhā is the mainspring or root of, 351, ś may be separately offered to the mother in the Anvaṣṭakā rites, in Vṛddhiśrāddha, at Gayā and on the anniversary of the day of death, but in other cases it is performed along with her husband 475, 662, śrāddhādhikārin, general rule about, was that husband should not offer piṇḍa to his wife, nor father to his son, nor elder brother to younger one, but exceptions to this were recognized 364-365, substances and utensils proper for being used at śrāddha and those not proper 412-413, śuddhi (purity) should be specially secured in seven matters in ś viz, the body (of the performer), the materials, the wife, the place (of performance), the mind, the mantras and the brāhmaṇas 413, sugar is sacred and may be employed in sacrifices to gods and manes 414;
v5.c75.981.2
texts support both views, viz that food is offered direct to the deceased ancestors in ś, and also that Vasus, Rudras and Ādityas are the pitṛs and *devatās* of ś 339, three classes of, viz. *nitya, naimittika* and *kāmya* 369-370, three sanctifying things in ś are *dauhitra*, a Nepal blanket and sesame 413, three views as to what is the principal item in ś, whether feeding of brāhmaṇas, or offering of piṇḍas or both 481-482, tilas (sesame), great importance of, in ś 418-419; times for performing ś, 360, 369-377, times on which ś. was obligatory (nitya) according to Viṣṇu Dh S. 372, times proper for kāmya ś are eclipses, days of solstice, equinoctial days, Vyatīpāta, saṅkrānti and śrāddhas performed on them give infinite pleasure to pitṛs 372, times for which pitṛs are gratified by the offering of the flesh of several animals 422-424, tīrtha-śrāddha, see under Tīrtha; treated under five heads viz, how, where, when, by whom and with what materials 340, to whom should the sons of two fathers, such as kṣetraja, putrikāputra and dattaka offer piṇḍas 536-538, twelve kinds of, according to Viśvāmitra 381-382, two classes of, viz., ekoddiṣṭa and pārvana 380;
v5.c75.981.3
use of flesh in ś, great divergence of views on 422-425, use of plantain leaves as plates was allowed by some and forbidden by others 421, use of wealth obtained by bribery or from *patita* persons, or arising from bride-price or declared unlawful is condemned 412, Vaiśvadeva is to be performed before piṇḍadāna in such śrāddhas as Navaśrāddha and after piṇḍadāna in yearly śrāddha, in mahālaya acc to some, while Hemādri gives more elaborate rules depending upon whether the performer was an āhitāgni or one who had no śrauta fires 471-72, 484, variation in the names of Viśve-devas 457n, vedic benediction finely worded and comprehensive to be uttered by brāhmaṇas on accepting an invitation for ś 409; vegetables, fruits and roots recommended and condemned for use in ś, 415-416, vessels of iron condemned for use in ś, 421, vessels of metals, particularly of silver, should be used in śrāddha, 420; vessels to be used in offering *arghya* water, for cooking śrāddha food, for dining and for serving 419-421; vessels to be used in *ś.* may be made from sacrificial wood or from *palāśa* or from a sea product (conch-shell) 420, views differed as to whether mother included step mother in Pārvana 475; Viṣṇu is to be regarded as dwelling in the three piṇḍas for the father, grand father and the great-grand-father 349, 351, Viśve-devas are generally mentioned in Manu and Yāj., but later smṛtis enumerated ten of them, two of them being assigned to each of five classes of śrāddhas 457;
v5.c75.981.4
Vṛddhiśrāddha, meaning of, 359n, and it is same as Nāndīśrāddha 527, was offered to three immediate ancestors, father, grandfather, great-grandfather 365, water, quality of, to be employed in *ś* 415; what food is of the nature of *havis* and fit for *ś.* 412, what men and women should engage in cooking *ś* food 462-466; when *ś* is performed at a tīrtha the piṇḍas should be cast into the sacred water, otherwise they may be cast into fire or water or handed over to a brāhmaṇa or may be allowed to be eaten by a cow or goat 480-481; who are entitled to offer śrāddha (*śrāddhādhikārin*) 364-365, who are *lepabhājaḥ* or *lepabhāginaḥ* 483, who are the deities of *ś*, the three male ancestors or Vasus, Rudras and Ādityas 348; whoever took the wealth of the deceased had to offer śrāddha and piṇḍas to the deceased even under the Mitākṣarā system 364, 510; who should be invited for śrāddha dinner according to the -gṛhya and dharma sūtras 384-385, who was the real recipient of the offerings made in śrāddha viz. the brāhmaṇas or pitṛs 460, women and śūdras should get *ś.* performed through a priest or they may themselves perform *ś* without mantras but only mention the name and gotra of the deceased 365, word śrāddha does not occur in any authentic and ancient vedic work, but only in the Kaṭhopaniṣad 349-50, worship of ṛtus (seasons) in *ś* provided for in some digests 433n.