"Vaisampayana said, 'On one occasion, while residing in the retreat of
Nara and Narayana, Narada the son of Pramesthi, having duly accomplished
the rites and observances in honour of the deities, set himself to
perform thereafter the rites in honour of the Pitris. Beholding him thus
prepared, the eldest son of Dharma, viz., the puissant Nara addressed
him, saying, "Whom art thou worshipping, O foremost of regenerate
persons, by these rites and observances in connection with the deities
and the Pitris? O foremost of all persons endued with intelligence, tell
me this, agreeably to the scriptures. What is this that thou art doing?
What also are the fruits desired by thee of those rites thou hast addrest
thyself in performing?"
"'Narada said, "Thou saidst unto me on a former occasion that rites and
observances in honour of the deities should be accomplished. Thou saidst
that the rites in honour of the deities constitute the highest sacrifice
and are equivalent to the worship of the eternal Supreme Soul. Instructed
by that teaching, I always sacrifice in honour of the eternal and
immutable Vishnu, through these rites that I perform in worshipping the
deities. It is from that Supreme Deity that Brahma, the Grandsire of all
the worlds, took his rise in days of yore. That Brahma, otherwise called
Prameshthi, filled with cheerfulness, caused my sire (Daksha) to start
into being. I was the son of Brahma, created before all others, by a fiat
of his will (although I had to take birth afterwards as the son of Daksha
through a curse of that Rishi). O righteous and illustrious one, I am
performing these rites in honour of the Pitris for the sake of Narayana,
and agreeable to those ordinances that have been laid down by himself.
The illustrious Narayana is the father, mother, and grandfather (of all
creatures). In all sacrifices performed in honour of the Pitris, it is
that Lord of the universe who is adored and worshipped. On one occasion,
the deities, who were sires, taught their children the Srutis. Having
lost their knowledge of the Srutis, the sires had to acquire it again
from those sons unto whom they had communicated it. In consequence of
this incident, the sons, who had thus to communicate the Mantras unto
their sires, acquired the status of sires (and the sire, for having
obtained the Mantras from their sons, acquired the status of sons).[1891]
Without doubt, what the deities did on that occasion is well known to you
two. Sons and sires (on that occasion) had thus to worship each other.
Having first spread some blades of Kusa grass, the deities and the Pitris
(who were their children) placed three Pindas thereon and in this way
worshipped each other. I wish to know, however, the reason why the Pitris
in days of yore acquired the name of Pindas."
"'Nara and Narayana said, "The Earth, in days of yore, with her belt of
seas, disappeared from the view. Govinda, assuming the form of a gigantic
boar, raised her up (with his mighty tusk). Having replaced the Earth in
her former position, that foremost of Purushas, his body smeared with
water and mud, set himself to do what was necessary for the world and its
denizens. When the sun reached the meridian, and the hour, therefore,
came for saying the morning prayers, the puissant Lord, suddenly shaking
off three balls of mud from his tusk, placed them upon the Earth, O
Narada, having previously spread thereon certain blades of grass. The
puissant Vishnu dedicated those balls of mud unto his own self, according
to the rites laid down in the eternal ordinance. Regarding the three
balls of mud that the puissant Lord had shaken off from his tusks as
Pindas, he then, with sesame seeds of oily kernel that arose from the
heat of his own body, himself performed the rite of dedication, sitting
with face turned towards the East. That foremost of deities then,
impelled by the desire of establishing rules of conduct for the denizens
of the three worlds, said these words:
"'"Vrishakapi said, 'I and the Creator of the worlds. I am resolved to
create those that are to be called Pitris.'--Saying these words, he began
to think of those high ordinances that should regulate the rites to be
gone through in honour of the Pitris. While thus engaged, he saw that the
three balls of mud, shaken off his tusk, had fallen towards the South. He
then said unto himself,--'These balls, shaken off my tusk, have fallen on
the Earth towards the southern direction of her surface. Led by this, I
declare that these should be known henceforth by the name of Pitris. Let
these three that are of no particular shape, and that are only round,
come to be regarded as Pitris in the world. Even thus do I create the
eternal Pitris. I am the father, the grandfather, and the great
grandfather, and I should be regarded as residing in these three Pindas.
There is no one that is superior to me. Who is there whom I myself may
worship or adore with rites? Who, again, is my sire in the universe? I
myself am my grandfather. I am, indeed, the Grandsire and the Sire. I am
the one cause (of all the universe).'--Having said these words, that God
of gods, Vrishakapi by name, offered those Pindas, O learned Brahmana, on
the breast of the Varaha mountains, with elaborate rites. By those rites
He worshipped His own self, and having finished the worship, disappeared
there and then. Hence have the Pitris come to be called by the name of
Pinda. Even this is the foundation of the designation. Agreeably to the
words uttered by Vrishakapi on that occasion, the Pitris receive the
worship offered by all. They who perform sacrifices in honour of and
adore the Pitris, the deities, the preceptor or other reverend senior
guests arrived at the house, kine, superior Brahmanas, the goddess Earth,
and their mothers, in thought, word, and deed, are said to adore and
sacrifice unto Vishnu himself. Pervading the bodies of all existent
creatures, the illustrious Lord is the Soul of all things. Unmoved by
happiness or misery, His attitude towards all is equal. Endued with
greatness, and of great soul, Narayana has been said to be the soul of
all things in the universe."'"