History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c81.981

v6.c81.981

As regards śrāddha, it is often difficult to perform it at the time of an eclipse for two reasons Most eclipses are partial and the time is short. Besides, there is a prohibition to eat food during an eclipse A prājāpatya expiation is prescribed for partaking of food during an eclipse.⁶³⁵ It is therefore provided in some smṛtis and digests that the śrāddha performed should be the āmaśrāddha or hemaśrāddha ⁶³⁶ Though the person performing śrāddha in an eclipse is deemed to reap great merit, the person partaking of śrāddha dinner is liable to undergo an expiation and is generally looked down upon. The Mitākṣarā on Yāj I 217–218 quotes the first quarter of a verse 'one should not eat during a solar or lunar eclipse' ⁶³⁷ Therefore a good brāhmaṇa cannot be easily secured and the performance of śrāddha with details is well-nigh impossible, even though Śātātapa and others state that it is obligatory. 'on seeing Rāhu (i. e an eclipse) one should perform a śrāddha even at the cost of all his wealth; one who does not perform śrāddha then sinks like a cow in mud'. The order of the several acts on an eclipse is · first bath in Ganges or other water, prāṇā- yāma, tarpaṇa, japa of Gāyatrī, homa in fire with sesame with the vyāhṛtis and the mantras for the planets as in Yāj. I. 300-301, then āmaśrāddha, gifts of gold, food, cows and land.