The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c36.s3.1

v2.c36.s3.1

In the Çrauta ritual a leading place in the cult of the dead is taken by the Piṇḍapitṛyajña,⁴ which should be offered after midday of the day of new moon. The sacrifice must take place in the southern fire, which is that appropriate to the Fathers, and the regular procedure of such offerings is followed: the sacred cord is to be worn over the right shoulder, not the left; all movements are from right to left, and recitations and acts take place once, not thrice; while in the normal offering movements are from south and west to north and east, in this offering they are in the reverse order, in so far that they must begin in the north and end in the south. In the libations the hand has the outer part turned downwards, the space between the thumb and the index finger is the space which serves for the passage of the oblations. Water is touched after each naming of the Fathers, and the offerer looks south, not north.¹ A pit is dug in the earth, south or west of the southern fire, with a formula to drive away the Asuras and the Rakṣases, and a firebrand from that fire is used as an additional mode of causing fear. The offering begins with two libations of boiled grain or butter to Soma with the Fathers and to Agni Kavyavāhana. Then the Fathers are directly approached : at the beginning, middle, and end of the furrow or pit water is poured, and the Fathers are invited to wash themselves.² Then Darbha grass is strewn in the pit, and from the remains of the rice pap and butter are made three lumps of food, or according to some authorities four, which are laid down in the pit on the places on which the water was formerly poured. In each case the Fathers are hailed by name if they are known as the father, grandfather, and greatgrandfather of the offerer; if the father of the offerer is still alive, various varieties of procedure are mentioned.³ The Fathers are invited to delight themselves : the offerer turns his back—doubtless to avoid too close contact, not that they may be unencumbered by his presence,⁴ and remains with averted head, until he is breathless or the food is cold : he then turns round to the lumps, says, ‘The Fathers have delighted themselves’, and pours water on the lumps, adds salve and some pieces of wool—or if over fifty, hair from his arm or breast—and invites the Fathers to wash, anoint, and clothe ⁵ themselves. He may also smell, if he desires a son, the remains of the pot. The Fathers are then honoured, and the Adhvaryu, looking south-east, and pushing away the lumps, bids them depart, pays reverence to the southern and the Gārhapatya fires, for the removal of all sin against heaven and earth. If the wife of the offerer wishes a son, then she eats the middle lump as in the domestic ritual : the other two may be thrown into fire or water, or eaten by prescribed persons.