﻿OF THE iirxDus, &c. 269 



food to a mendicant priest, or to a cow ; or else casts 

 it into the waters. 



He then dismisses the manes, saying, "Fathers, 

 to M'liom food belongs, guard our food, and the 

 other things offered l)y us ; venerable and immortal 

 us ye are, and conversant with holy truths ; quatF 

 the sweet essence of it, -be cheerful and depart con- 

 tented, by the paths which Gods travel." Lastly, 

 he walks round the spot and leave? it, sayin^-, 

 " May the benefit of this oblation accrue to me re- 

 peatedly ; may the Goddess of the earth, and the 

 Goddess of the sky, whose form is the universe, visit 

 me [with present and future happiness]. Father and 

 mother ! revisit me, [v/hen I again celebrate obse- 

 quies]. Soma, king of the manes ! visit me for the 

 sake of [conferring] immortality." 



A S'ra'dd'ha is thus performed, with an oblation 

 of three funeral cakes only, to three male paternal 

 ancestors, on some occasions ; or with as many fu- 

 neral oblations to three maternal ancestors, on others. 

 Sometimes separate oblations are also presented to the 

 .wives of the paternal ancestors ; at other times, simi- 

 lar offering's are likewise made to the wives of three 

 maternal ancestors. Thus, at the monthly s'radcrhas 

 celebrated on the day of new moon, six funeral cakes 

 are offered to three paternal and as many maternal 

 male ancestors with their wives : on most other occa- 

 sions separate oblations are presented to the female 

 ancestors. At the obsequies celebrated in the first 

 hdi\^ of \4s'wina, on the day entitled Alahdlaijd, fu- 

 neral cakes are separately offered to every deceased 

 friend and near relation : thus, immediately after 

 the oblations to ancestors, a cake is presented to a 

 deceased wife, then to a son or daughter, to a bro- 

 ther or sister, to an uncle or aunt, to a father-in- 

 law, to a preceptor, and lastly to a friend. The same 

 is observed at the obsequies performed on the day of 

 an eclipse, or upon a pilgrimage to any holy spot, 

 and especially to Gayd. 



Formal 



