by Bibek Debroy
‘“‘I will now tell you about the time when men must undertake nitya-naimittika rites. Listen. Every month, a shraddha ceremony must be undertaken when the moon decays at the time of amavasya. 405 It must also be performed during ashtaka. 406 O son! Now hear about the other desirable occasions—when an excellent brahmana is available, at the time of a solar or lunar eclipse, when the sun moves from one ayana to another, at the time the sun enters the vernal equinox, when objects are available for a shraddha ceremony, when a nightmare is seen, when the natal nakshatra or planet is debilitated, or when one desires to perform a shraddha ceremony. A distinguished and learned brahmana, a yogi, a person learned in the Vedas, a person accomplished in Jyeshtha Sama, 407 a person learned in ‘Trinachiketa’, 408 a person who observes beneficial vows, a person who observes Trinachiketa, 409 one who knows the three Madhus, 410 one who knows the three Suparnas, 411 one who knows the six Vedangas, a daughter’s son, an officiating priest, a son-in-law, a sister’s son, a father-in-law, a person who follows the vows of the five fires, 412 a person who is devoted to austerities, a mother’s brother, a person who is devoted to one’s parents, a disciple, a relation by marriage, a kin and an excellent brahmana—all of these are capable of performing the shraddha. O son! A person who has not practised brahmacharya, a diseased person, a person who lacks a limb, a person who has an extra limb, the son of a remarried widow, a man without one eye, an illegitimate son, a son born to a widow after her husband has died, a person who harms his friends, one with diseased nails, a leper, a person with black teeth, a malformed person, a person who has been cursed, a thief, a person who indulges in calumny, a person who sells soma, a person who has defiled his daughter, a physician, a person who has abandoned his preceptor or father, a person who teaches for payment, an enemy, 413 the husband of a woman who has married before, a person who has abandoned the Vedas or the fire, the husband of a vrishala, 414 a person who is defiled, a brahmana who has deviated from his tasks—such people must be shunned at a funeral rite. The best of brahmanas, mentioned earlier, must be invited on the preceding day. They are the ones who must be engaged for rites connected with the gods and the ancestors. They must control themselves and so must the person performing the shraddha. If a person offers food at a shraddha and after eating it, indulges in sexual intercourse, for an entire month, his ancestors lie down on that semen. If a person offers food at a shraddha and after eating it, has intercourse with a woman, for an entire month, his ancestors drink semen and urine. Therefore, the first task for a wise person is to issue the invitations. Until the day when the invitees reach, all association with women must be avoided.
‘“‘In the course of time, mendicants will arrive for alms. Controlling his mind, he must prostrate himself before them. He must please and feed them. The ancestors prefer krishna paksha to shukla paksha. In that way, the ancestors also prefer the afternoon to the forenoon. The brahmanas who have arrived at the house must be welcomed and honoured. With hands cleaned and with kusha mats, he must make them sit down on their seats. Those excellent brahmanas must be engaged for rites connected with the ancestors. Depending on capacity, an odd number of brahmanas must be engaged for rites connected with ancestors and an even number for rites connected with gods. Whether it is for the Vishvadevas or whether it is for the maternal grandfather, the rules are similar. There are other men who wish to draw a distinction between the two. For the gods, the face must face the east when performing the rites. For the ancestors, the face must face the north. The learned have laid down similar rules for the maternal grandfather. Kusha mats are given for their seats. After this, a person who desires his benefit must worship them with arghya and other things. Having given them pavitraka, 415 a wise person will take their permission. The brahmana will invoke the gods with mantras. Barley mixed with water will be tendered as an offering to the Vishvadevas. Fragrances, garlands, incenses and lamps will be offered in the proper way. All the rites for the ancestors will be performed towards the right. With their permission, 416 double the quantity of darbha grass will be offered. At that time, a learned person must invoke the ancestors with mantras. To the right, he will render the offering of barley mixed with sesamum. O immensely fortunate one! He must do all this to please the ancestors. The brahmanas will grant him permission to go ahead with the fire rites and say, “Proceed.” Following the rites, he will offer rice without condiments or salt. The first oblation will be, “To Agni, the bearer of oblations. Svaha.” The second oblation will be, “To Soma, revered by the ancestors. Svaha.” The third oblation will be, “To Yama, the lord of the ancestors. Svaha.” What is left of the oblations must then be given to the brahmanas, in vessels, offering the food according to the rites and with these sweet words. “May you happily enjoy this.” Maintaining silence, they will attentively and happily enjoy the food. A man must patiently give them whatever food they desire, tempting them and without displaying any anger. After this, he must chant mantras that slay rakshasas and scatter white mustard and sesamum seeds on the ground. This is for protection, since a shraddha ceremony has many lacunae. He will then ask the brahmanas whether they have been satisfied and they will reply in words signifying that they have indeed been satisfied. With their permission, he will then scatter the food all around, on the ground. Honouring them, he will offer them clean water for rinsing their mouths. O son! With their permission, he will then control his words and thoughts and prepare a pinda for the ancestors with the rice and the sesamum seed. Near the leftover food, this will be placed on darbha grass. O son of a king! The person undertaking the ceremony will faithfully think of the ancestors and controlling himself, use his pitritirtha 417 to offer them water. Following the rites, a pinda to the maternal grandfather is also offered in the same way, with fragrances, garlands and achamaniya. With his right hand, he must offer dakshina to the brahmanas and say, “May the utterance of this svadha be propitious.” When they are satisfied, he must make them pronounce mantras for the Vishvadevas. “O Vishvadevas! May you fortunate ones be pleased.” When the brahmanas have said this, he must ask for their benedictions. He must devotedly prostrate himself before them and affectionately grant them permission to leave. He must follow them up to the door and return only when they have granted permission. After this, the nitya rites must be performed and guests fed. Some excellent people wish to perform nitya rites for their ancestors. Others say these should not be undertaken for ancestors, but that the other rites must be performed, as mentioned earlier. Some say the cooking for the ancestors should be done separately. Others say there is no need for this, but the rites must be performed, as mentioned earlier. A man must eat the food along with the servants. A person who knows about dharma controls himself and undertakes a shraddha ceremony for the ancestors in this way, so that the foremost among the brahmanas are satisfied. There are three things that are sacred in a Shraddha—the daughter’s son, the leather bottle for oil and sesamum seeds. O son! The brahmanas have said that three things must be avoided in shraddhas—anger, walking around and hurrying. A silver vessel is the best. Silver must be seen and must also be given away. On earth, it has been heard that the ancestors use a silver vessel to milk svadha. Therefore, they desire silver vessels, which enhance their joy.’”’
Chapter 29
‘“Madalasa said, ‘O son! After this, listen faithfully to what must be used to enhance the joy of the ancestors and what must be avoided. With havishya food, the ancestors are satisfied for a month. With fish and meat, the paternal ancestors are satisfied for two months. Know that the meat of deer satisfies the ancestors for three months. With the flesh of hares, the ancestors are nourished for four months. The flesh of birds satisfies them for five months and that of boar for six months. Goat meat satisfies them for seven months and ena 418 flesh for eight months. There is no doubt that the meat of the ruru antelope satisfies them for nine months. The meat of gavaya 419 satisfies them for ten months. The flesh of sheep satisfies the ancestors for eleven months. The milk of cows and payasam
satisfies them for a year. O son! There is no doubt that the flesh of a rhinoceros, the flesh of the red goat, jute, 420 honey, meat offered by a daughter’s son, by someone from the daughter’s line or by a gourisuta 421 or a shraddha performed in Gaya satisfies the ancestors for an infinitely long period of time. That apart, dark millet, millet, small-grained rice, wild rice and poushkala grain satisfy the ancestors. Barley, rice from the monsoon crop, wheat, sesamum, moong lentil, mustard, saffron, kodrava grain and winnowed corn are extremely agreeable. General corn, beans and small-grained millet are avoidable in shraddhas. Drops of water that fall from the mouth and mosur lentil must not be used in shraddha ceremonies. Garlic, turnips, onions, carrots, flour mixed with curds, objects that are inferior in taste and colour, white turmeric, bottle gourds, salt, anything that is saline, red gum and anything with salt added to it should not be used in shraddhas. Anything not praised, objects obtained through bribes, wealth earned by an outcast and objects bought by selling one’s daughter for a price are condemned. O son! Water that is foul or full of froth, water that is small in quantity, water through which cattle are not satisfied, water that has been collected in the night, water that has been discarded by everyone, water that is not fit to be drunk and water that is from a ditch must always be avoided in rites meant for the ancestors. The milk of deer, sheep, camels, animals with un-cloven hooves, buffaloes, milk from a cow that has given birth in the last ten days and milk obtained by saying, “Give it to me for my ancestral rites” are always avoided by the virtuous for shraddha rites. Ground that is full of worms, barren, burnt by the fire, undesirable, foul in smell and tainted with fierce words 422 must be avoided for shraddha rites. Those who have brought dishonour to the lineage, those who have harmed the lineage, the worst of the lineage, those who have killed brahmanas, the diseased, the naked and sinners should be shunned. Their glances cause harm to a rite meant for the ancestors. A eunuch, a person cast aside by his family, a cock, a village pig, a dog and a yatudhana 423 cause harm through their glances. O son! That is the reason those who are well-prepared scatter sesamum seeds on the ground. This grants protection against such fear. A person who has just touched a corpse or a woman who has just delivered, a person who is suffering from a chronic ailment, an outcast and an unclean person does not nourish the ancestors. They must never be seen at a shraddha ceremony. Nor should one see a woman in her menstrual cycle. The person undertaking the rite must carefully avoid conversation and association with those with shaven heads and those who are drunk. Food that has hair or worms in it, food a dog has looked at, food that is foul in stench, food that is stale and food that has been fanned by a garment must be avoided at a shraddha. Anything offered to the ancestors with great devotion, uttering their names and gotras, becomes their food. That is the reason it must be offered to the ancestors in an appropriate vessel. If one desires the satisfaction of the ancestors, it must be offered in that way. At shraddhas, learned men always feed yogis. They are always fed because the ancestors are the reservoirs of yoga. Just as a boat ferries across the water, if a yogi is fed instead of one thousand brahmanas, he saves the person undertaking the rite, as well as those who are fed. In this connection, those who know about the brahman have chanted a song that they heard about the ancestors. Earlier, the ancestors sung this about King Aila. “We are always eager. When will a son be born, who will offer us a pinda on the ground from what is left after a yogi has eaten? When will a pinda be offered in Gaya? When will we get the great offering of the flesh of a rhinoceros? When will we be satisfied for a month with jute, 424 sesamum or krisara? As an oblation to the Vishvadevas and Soma, the flesh of a rhinoceros is supreme. If the flesh of a rhinoceros without horns is offered, we are satisfied for as long as the sun is in the sky.” In the month of Magha, following the rites, the ceremony must be performed for thirteen years. During dakshinayana, payasam mixed with honey and clarified butter must be offered. Therefore, with a controlled mind, one must faithfully worship one’s own ancestors. One then obtains everything that one desires and is cleansed of all sins. When the ancestors are satisfied through a shraddha, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Adityas, the nakshatras, the planets and the stars are pleased with men. When the ancestors are satisfied through shraddhas, they thus bestow long lives, subjects, wealth, learning, heaven, liberation, happiness and kingdoms. O son! I have thus described what has been described about shraddha rites. O child! I will now tell you about the tithis for kamya shraddhas. 425 Listen.’”’
Chapter 30
‘“Madalasa said, ‘If a man devotedly performs the rites on the first lunar tithi, he obtains riches; on the second, he obtains prosperity; on the third, he obtains boons; on the fourth, his enemies are destroyed; on the fifth, he obtains good fortune; on the sixth, he is worshipped; on the seventh, he obtains kingship; on the eighth, he obtains great advancement; on the ninth, he obtains women; on the tenth, all his wishes are fulfilled; on the eleventh, he obtains all the Vedas; on the twelfth, a person who worships the ancestors obtains victory, offspring, intelligence, animals, prosperity, independence and supreme nourishment; and on the thirteenth, he obtains a long lifespan and wealth. There is no doubt that a man who faithfully performs a shraddha obtains these things. If the father died in youth or was slain through weapons, if a person faithfully performs a shraddha on the fourteenth day, the father is satisfied. If a man purifies himself and carefully performs a shraddha on the day of the new moon, all his desires are satisfied and he enjoys heaven for an infinitely long period.
‘“‘If a man worships the ancestors when Krittika is in the ascendant, he obtains heaven. 426 If he desires offspring, he should undertake it when Rohini is in the ascendant. If he performs it when Mrigashira is in the ascendant, he obtains energy. If he performs it when Ardra is in the ascendant, he obtains valour. If he performs it when Punarvasu is in the ascendant, he obtains land. If he performs it when Pushya is in the ascendant, he always obtains nourishment. If he performs it when Ashlesha is in the ascendant, he obtains excellent sons. If he performs it when Magha is in the ascendant, he obtains superiority over his relatives. If he performs it when Purva Phalguni is in the ascendant, he obtains good fortune. If he performs it when Uttara Phalguni is in the ascendant, he becomes generous and obtains supreme offspring. If a man performs the shraddha when Hasta is in the ascendant, he obtains superiority. If he performs it when Chitra is in the ascendant, he obtains beauty and offspring. If he performs it when Svati is in the ascendant, he obtains gains through trade. If he desires sons, he should perform it when Vishakha is in the ascendant. If he performs it when Anuradha is in the ascendant, he becomes an emperor. If he performs it when Jyeshtha is in the ascendant, he obtains lordship. If he performs it when Mula is in the ascendant, he obtains extreme good health. If he performs it when Purva Ashadha is in the ascendant, he obtains fame. If he performs it when Uttara Ashadha is in the ascendant, he does not suffer from grief. If he performs it when Shravana is in the ascendant, he obtains auspicious worlds. If he performs it when Dhanishtha is in the ascendant, he obtains great wealth. If he performs it when Abhijit is in the ascendant, he obtains learning of the Vedas. If he performs it when Varuna is in the ascendant, he obtains success as a physician. If he performs it when Purva Proshthapada is in the ascendant, he obtains goats and sheep. If he performs it when Uttara Proshthapada is in the ascendant, he obtains learning and cattle. If he performs it when Revati is in the ascendant, he obtains metals. If he performs it when Ashvini is in the ascendant, he obtains metals. If he performs a shraddha ceremony when Bharani is in the ascendant, he obtains an excellent lifespan. A person who knows the truth about the nakshatras should perform kamya shraddhas in this way.’”’
Chapter 31
‘“Madalasa said, ‘O son! Thus, a householder must worship gods and ancestors with havya and kavya, 427 and guests, relatives, creatures, servants, the disabled, animals, birds, ants, supplicants who seek and others who dwell at home with food. O son! This is good behaviour for a virtuous househol
der. If he deviates from the nitya and naimittika rites, he commits a sin.’
‘“Alarka said, ‘O mother! You have described to me three kinds of tasks for a man—nitya, naimittika and nitya-naimittika. O one who brings a delight to the lineage! I now wish to hear about the good behaviour 428 through which a man can obtain happiness in this world and in the next world.’
‘“Madalasa replied, ‘A householder must always observe good conduct. In the absence of good behaviour, he cannot obtain happiness in this world or in the next one. If a man violates the rules of good conduct, sacrifices, donations and austerities, he does not obtain prosperity in this world. A man who is evil in conduct does not obtain a long lifespan. Therefore, one must always endeavour to observe good behaviour. O son! I will describe to you the nature of sadachara. Listen with an attentive mind and follow this. A householder must seek to accomplish the three objectives. 429 If a householder is successful in accomplishing this, he obtains success in this world and in the next one. A self-controlled person must use one-fourth of his accumulated artha for the next world. He must use half to sustain himself and to perform the nitya and naimittika rites. The last one-fourth of the artha must be used as capital to extend the artha further. 430 O son! A person who desires success must use his artha in this way. In a similar way, a learned person must use the fruits of dharma to cleanse sin. This is with the objective of obtaining fruits in this world. That without any objective is for the next world. In that way, kama is of two types 431 and there is conflict between it and the other objectives. Indeed, one must reflect on how these three objectives reinforce each other and also on how they conflict with each other. Listen. I will speak about how dharma and the others can give rise to a conflict. Listen. Dharma enhances dharma and dharma is not necessarily in conflict with artha. But the two can also clash. In a similar way, the two can conflict, or not conflict, with kama.
