The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c39.s3.106

v2.c39.s3.106

The dead, however, do not always go to the gods: they may also go to the Fathers, who dwell in the third heaven. The difference of the ways is not explained, and remains as mysterious as the Fathers themselves. Of them diverse accounts are given: they are the children of Prajāpati, born before the gods and after the Asuras; they are the gods, who were slain in the fight with Vṛtra, brought to life as the Fathers.⁸ Incorporeal, they are compared to mind,⁹ as they cannot be seen. They correspond to the seasons, intermediate between the day, which is appropriate to man, and the year of the gods: they correspond to the world of the atmosphere which comes between the earth and the heaven, but their world is not there. With the gods they have been at variance: their chief Yama¹ used to deprive the gods of all that they had, until the intervention of Prajāpati led to the settlement of the dispute. The gods are compelled to share with the Fathers the sacrifice. To their worshippers they are a somewhat dreaded band:² they must be appeased by offerings of the fringe of one’s garment up to the age of fifty, and thereafter demand the offering of hair: their approach in the later period becomes closer and the need to buy off their demands by the redemption of oneself increases. When they come, it is said the Fathers take a man or they give one.³ They are also to be honoured by the sacrificer turning away his head, when they come to eat, even as the prince eats without the gaze of the people.⁴ They receive offerings for many reasons,⁵ to prevent their bringing death with them, to carry out the rule of following the usages of the gods who offered to them, to show benevolence to those whom the gods recalled to life, to elevate the sacrificer’s own Fathers to a better world, and to make good the injuries which one inflicts on oneself by misconduct.