classes, or rather between two concepts of Fathers, the one comprising
the distant, half-forgotten, and almost mythical ancestors of certain
families or of what would have been to the poets of the Veda, the
whole human race, the other consisting of the fathers who had but
lately departed, and who were still, as it were, personally remembered
and revered.
The old ancestors in general approach more nearly to the gods. They
are often represented as having gone to the abode of Yama, the ruler
of the departed, and to live there in company with some of the Devas
(Rig-Veda VII. 76, 4, devana_m_ sadhamada_h_; Rig-Veda X. 16, 1,
devana_m_ va_s_ani_h_).
We sometimes read of the great-grandfathers being in heaven, the
grandfathers in the sky, the fathers on the earth, the first in
company with the Adityas, the second with the Rudras, the last with
the Vasus. All these are individual poetical conceptions.[281]
Yama himself is sometimes invoked as if he were one of the Fathers,
the first of mortals that died or that trod the path of the Fathers
(the pit_ri_ya_n_a, X. 2, 7) leading to the common sunset in the
West.[282] Still his real Deva-like nature is never completely lost,
and, as the god of the setting sun, he is indeed the leader of the
Fathers, but not one of the Fathers himself.[283]
Many of the benefits which men enjoyed on earth were referred to the
Fathers, as having first been procured and first enjoyed by them.
They performed the first sacrifices, and secured the benefits arising
from them. Even the great events in nature, such as the rising of the
sun, the light of the day and the darkness of the night, were
sometimes referred to them, and they were praised for having broken
open the dark stable of the morning and having brought out the cows,
that is, the days (X. 68, 11).[284] They were even praised for having
adorned the night with stars, while in later writing the stars are
said to be the lights of the good people who have entered into
heaven.[285] Similar ideas, we know, prevailed among the ancient
Persians, Greeks, and Romans. The Fathers are called in the Veda
truthful (satya), wise (suvidatra), righteous (_ri_tavat), poets
(kavi), leaders (pathik_ri_t), and one of their most frequent epithets
is somya, delighting in Soma, Soma being the ancient intoxicating
beverage of the Vedic _Ri_shis, which was believed to bestow
immortality,[286] but which had been lost, or at all events had become
difficult to obtain by the Aryans, after their migration into the
Punjab.[287]
The families of the Bh_ri_gus, the Angiras, the Atharvans[288] all
have their Pit_ri_s or Fathers, who are invoked to sit down on the
grass and to accept the offerings placed there for them. Even the name
of Pit_ri_ya_gn_a, sacrifice of the Fathers, occurs already in the
hymns of the Rig-Veda.[289]
The following is one of the hymns of the Rig-Veda by which those
ancient Fathers were invited to come to their sacrifice (Rig-veda X.
15):[290]
1. "May the Soma-loving Fathers, the lowest, the highest,
and the middle, arise. May the gentle and righteous Fathers
who have come to life (again), protect us in these
invocations!
2. "May this salutation be for the Fathers to-day, for those
who have departed before or after; whether they now dwell in
the sky above the earth, or among the blessed people.
3. "I invited the wise Fathers ... may they come hither
quickly, and sitting on the grass readily partake of the
poured-out draught!
4. "Come hither to us with your help, you Fathers who sit on
the grass! We have prepared these libations for you, accept
them! Come hither with your most blessed protection, and
give us health and wealth without fail!
5. "The Soma-loving Fathers have been called hither to their
dear viands which are placed on the grass. Let them
approach, let them listen, let them bless, let them protect
us!
6. "Bending your knee and sitting on my right, accept all
this sacrifice. Do not hurt us, O Fathers, for any wrong
that we may have committed against you, men as we are.
7. "When you sit down on the lap of the red dawns, grant
wealth to the generous mortal! O Fathers, give of your
treasure to the sons of this man here, and bestow vigor here
on us!
8. "May Yama, as a friend with friends, consume the
offerings according to his wish, united with those old
Soma-loving Fathers of ours, the Vasish_th_as, who arranged
the Soma draught.
9. "Come hither, O Agni, with those wise and truthful
Fathers who like to sit down near the hearth, who thirsted
when yearning for the gods, who knew the sacrifice, and who
were strong in praise with their songs.
10. "Come, O Agni, with those ancient fathers who like to
sit down near the hearth, who forever praise the gods, the
truthful, who eat and drink our oblations, making company
with Indra and the gods.
11. "O Fathers, you who have been consumed by Agni, come
here, sit down on your seats, you kind guides! Eat of the
offerings which we have placed on the turf, and then grant
us wealth and strong offspring!
12. "O Agni, O _G_atavedas,[291] at our request thou hast
carried the offerings, having first rendered them sweet.
Thou gavest them to the Fathers, and they fed on their
share. Eat also, O god, the proffered oblations!
13. "The Fathers who are here, and the Fathers who are not
here, those whom we know, and those whom we know not, thou
_G_atavedas, knowest how many they are, accept the well-made
sacrifice with the sacrificial portions!
14. "To those who, whether burned by fire or not burned by
fire, rejoice in their share in the midst of heaven, grant
thou, O King, that their body may take that life which they
wish for!"[292]
Distinct from the worship offered to these primitive ancestors, is
the reverence which from an early time was felt to be due by children
to their departed father, soon also to their grandfather, and
great-grandfather. The ceremonies in which these more personal
feelings found expression were of a more domestic character, and
allowed therefore of greater local variety.
It would be quite impossible to give here even an abstract only of the
minute regulations which have been preserved to us in the Brahma_n_as,
the _S_rauta, G_ri_hya, and Samaya_k_arika Sutras, the Law-books, and
a mass of later manuals on the performance of endless rites, all
intended to honor the Departed. Such are the minute prescriptions as
to times and seasons, as to altars and offerings, as to the number and
shape of the sacrificial vessels, as to the proper postures of the
sacrificers, and the different arrangements of the vessels, that it is
extremely difficult to catch hold of what we really care for, namely,
the thoughts and intentions of those who first devised all these
intricacies. Much has been written on this class of sacrifices by
European scholars also, beginning with Colebrooke's excellent essays
on "The Religious Ceremonies of the Hindus," first published in the
"Asiatic Researches," vol. v. Calcutta, 1798. But when we ask the
simple question, What was the thought from whence all this outward
ceremonial sprang, and what was the natural craving of the human heart
which it seemed to satisfy, we hardly get an intelligible answer
anywhere. It is true that _S_raddhas continue to be performed all over
India to the present day, but we know how widely the modern ceremonial
has diverged from the rules laid down in the old _S_astras, and it is
quite clear from the descriptions given to us by recent travellers
that no one can understand the purport even of these survivals of the
old ceremonial, unless he understands Sanskrit and can read the old
Sutras. We are indeed told in full detail how the cakes were made
which the Spirits wore supposed to eat, how many stalks of grass were
to be used on which they had to be offered, how long each stalk ought
to be, and in what direction it should be held. All the things which
teach us nothing are explained to us in abundance, but the few things
which the true scholar really cares for are passed over, as if they
had no interest to us at all, and have to be discovered under heaps of
rubbish.
In order to gain a little light, I think we ought to distinguish
between--
1. The daily ancestral sacrifice, the Pit_ri_ya_gn_a, as one
of the five Great Sacrifices (Mahaya_gn_as);
2. The monthly ancestral sacrifice, the
Pi_nd_a-pit_ri_-ya_gn_a, as part of the New and Full-moon
sacrifice;
3. The funeral ceremonies on the death of a householder;
4. The Agapes, or feasts of love and charity, commonly
called _S_raddhas, at which food and other charitable gifts
were bestowed on deserving persons in memory of the deceased
ancestors. The name of _S_raddha belongs properly to this
last class only, but it has been transferred to the second
and third class of sacrifices also, because _S_raddha formed
an important part in them.
The daily Pit_ri_ya_gn_a or Ancestor-worship is one of the five
sacrifices, sometimes called the Great Sacrifices,[293] which every
married man ought to perform day by day. They are mentioned in the
G_ri_hya-sutras (A_s_v. III. 1), as Devaya_gn_a, for the Devas,
Bhutaya_gn_a, for animals, etc., Pit_ri_ya_gn_a, for the Fathers,
Brahmaya_gn_a, for Brahman, _i.e._ study of the Veda, and
Manushyaya_gn_a, for men, _i.e._ hospitality, etc.
Manu (III. 70) tells us the same, namely, that a married man has five
great religious duties to perform:
1. The Brahma-sacrifice, _i.e._ the studying and teaching of
the Veda (sometimes called Ahuta).
2. The Pit_ri_-sacrifice, _i.e._ the offering of cakes and
water to the Manes (sometimes called Pra_s_ita).
3. The Deva-sacrifice, _i.e._ the offering of oblations to
the gods (sometimes called Huta).
4. The Bhuta-sacrifice, _i.e._ the giving of food to living
creatures (sometimes called Prahuta).
5. The Manushya-sacrifice, _i.e._ the receiving of guests
with hospitality (sometimes called Brahmya huta).[294]
The performance of this daily Pit_ri_ya_gn_a, seems to have been
extremely simple. The householder had to put his sacred cord on the
right shoulder, to say "Svadha to the Fathers," and to throw the
remains of certain offerings toward the south.[295]
The human impulse to this sacrifice, if sacrifice it can be called, is
clear enough. The five "great sacrifices" comprehended in early times
the whole duty of man from day to day. They were connected with his
daily meal.[296] When this meal was preparing, and before he could
touch it himself, he was to offer something to the gods, a
Vai_s_vadeva offering,[297] in which the chief deities were Agni,
fire, Soma the Vi_s_ve Devas, Dhanvantari, the kind of AEsculapius,
Kuhu and Anumati (phases of the moon), Pra_g_apati, lord of creatures,
Dyava-p_ri_thivi, Heaven and Earth, and Svish_t_ak_ri_t, the fire on
the hearth.[298]
After having thus satisfied the gods in the four quarters, the
householder had to throw some oblations into the open air, which were
intended for animals, and in some cases for invisible beings, ghosts
and such like. Then he was to remember the Departed, the Pit_ri_s,
with some offerings; but even after having done this he was not yet to
begin his own repast, unless he had also given something to strangers
(atithis).
When all this had been fulfilled, and when, besides, the householder,
as we should say, had said his daily prayers, or repeated what he had
learned of the Veda, then and then only was he in harmony with the
world that surrounded him, the five Great Sacrifices had been
performed by him, and he was free from all the sins arising from a
thoughtless and selfish life.
This Pit_ri_ya_gn_a, as one of the five daily sacrifices, is described
in the Brahma_n_as, the G_ri_hya and Samaya_k_arika Sutras, and, of
course, in the legal Sa_m_hitas. Rajendralal Mitra[299] informs us
that "orthodox Brahmans to this day profess to observe all these five
ceremonies, but that in reality only the offerings to the gods and
manes are strictly observed, while the reading is completed by the
repetition of the Gayatri only, and charity and feeding of animals are
casual and uncertain."
Quite different from this simple daily ancestral offering is the
Pit_ri_ya_gn_a or Pi_nd_a-pit_ri_ya_gn_a, which forms part of many of
the statutable sacrifices, and, first of all, of the New and Full-moon
sacrifice. Here again the human motive is intelligible enough. It was
the contemplation of the regular course of nature, the discovery of
order in the coming and going of the heavenly bodies, the growing
confidence in some ruling power of the world which lifted man's
thoughts from his daily work to higher regions, and filled his heart
with a desire to approach these higher powers with praise,
thanksgiving, and offerings. And it was at such moments as the waning
of the moon that his thoughts would most naturally turn to those whose
life had waned, whose bright faces were no longer visible on earth,
his fathers or ancestors. Therefore at the very beginning of the
New-moon sacrifice, we are told in the Brahma_n_as[300] and in the
_S_rauta-sutras, that a Pit_ri_ya_gn_a, a sacrifice to the Fathers, has
to be performed. A _K_aru or pie had to be prepared in the
Dakshi_n_agni, the southern fire, and the offerings, consisting of
water and round cakes (pi_nd_as), were specially dedicated to father,
grandfather, and great-grandfather, while the wife of the sacrificer,
if she wished for a son, was allowed to eat one of the cakes.[301]
Similar ancestral offerings took place during other sacrifices too, of
which the New and Full-moon sacrifices form the general type.
It may be quite true that these two kinds of ancestral sacrifices have
the same object and share the same name, but their character is
different; and if, as has often been the case, they are mixed up
together, we lose the most important lessons which a study of the
ancient ceremonial should teach us. I cannot describe the difference
between these two Pit_ri_ya_gn_as more decisively than by pointing out
that the former was performed by the father of a family, or, if we may
say so, by a layman, the latter by a regular priest, or a class of
priests, selected by the sacrificer to act in his behalf. As the
Hindus themselves would put it, the former is a g_ri_hya, a domestic,
the latter a _s_rauta, a priestly ceremony.[302]
We now come to a third class of ceremonies which are likewise domestic
and personal, but which differ from the two preceding ceremonies by
their occasional character, I mean the funeral, as distinct from the
ancestral ceremonies. In one respect these funeral ceremonies may
represent an earlier phase of worship than the daily and monthly
ancestral sacrifices. They lead up to them, and, as it were, prepare
the departed for their future dignity as Pit_ri_s or Ancestors. On the
other hand, the conception of Ancestors in general must have existed
before any departed person could have been raised to that rank, and I
therefore preferred to describe the ancestral sacrifices first.
Nor need I enter here very fully into the character of the special
funeral ceremonies of India. I described them in a special paper, "On
Sepulture and Sacrificial Customs in the Veda," nearly thirty years
ago.[303] Their spirit is the same as that of the funeral ceremonies
of Greeks, Romans, Slavonic, and Teutonic nations, and the
coincidences between them all are often most surprising.
In Vedic times the people in India both burned and buried their dead,
and they did this with a certain solemnity, and, after a time,
according to fixed rules. Their ideas about the status of the
departed, after their body had been burned and their ashes buried,
varied considerably, but in the main they seem to have believed in a
life to come, not very different from our life on earth, and in the
power of the departed to confer blessings on their descendants. It
soon therefore became the interest of the survivors to secure the
favor of their departed friends by observances and offerings which, at
first, were the spontaneous manifestation of human feelings, but which
soon became traditional, technical, in fact, ritual.
On the day on which the corpse had been burned, the relatives
(samanodakas) bathed and poured out a handful of water to the
deceased, pronouncing his name and that of his family.[304] At sunset
they returned home, and, as was but natural, they were told to cook
nothing during the first night, and to observe certain rules during
the next day up to ten days, according to the character of the
deceased. These were days of mourning, or, as they were afterward
called, days of impurity, when the mourners withdrew from contact with
the world, and shrank by a natural impulse from the ordinary
occupations and pleasures of life.[305]
Then followed the collecting of the ashes on the 11th, 13th, or 15th
day of the dark half of the moon. On returning from thence they
bathed, and then offered what was called a _S_raddha to the departed.
This word _S_raddha, which meets us here for the first time, is full
of interesting lessons, if only properly understood. First of all it
should be noted that it is absent, not only from the hymns, but, so
far as we know at present, even from the ancient Brahma_n_as. It seems
therefore a word of a more modern origin. There is a passage in
Apastamba's Dharma-sutras which betrays, on the part of the author, a
consciousness of the more modern origin of the _S_raddhas:[306]
"Formerly men and gods lived together in this world. Then the
gods in reward of their sacrifices went to heaven, but men
were left behind. Those men who perform sacrifices in the
same manner as the gods did, dwelt (after death) with the
gods and Brahman in heaven. Now (seeing men left behind) Manu
revealed this ceremony which is designated by the word
_S_raddha."
_S_raddha has assumed many[307] meanings, and Manu,[308] for instance,
uses it almost synonymously with pit_ri_ya_gn_a. But its original
meaning seems to have been "that which is given with _s_raddha or
faith," _i.e._ charity bestowed on deserving persons, and, more
particularly, on Brahma_n_as. The gift was called _s_raddha, but the
act itself also was called by the same name. The word is best
explained by Naraya_n_a in his commentary on the G_ri_hya-sutras of
A_s_valayana (IV. 7), "_S_raddha is that which is given in faith to
Brahmans for the sake of the Fathers."[309]
Such charitable gifts flowed most naturally and abundantly at the time
of a man's death, or whenever his memory was revived by happy or
unhappy events in a family, and hence _S_raddha has become the general
name for ever so many sacred acts commemorative of the departed. We
hear of _S_raddhas not only at funerals, but at joyous events also,
when presents were bestowed in the name of the family, and therefore
in the name of the ancestors also, on all who had a right to that
distinction.
It is a mistake therefore to look upon _S_raddhas simply as offerings
of water or cakes to the Fathers. An offering to the Fathers was, no
doubt, a symbolic part of each _S_raddha, but its more important
character was charity bestowed in memory of the Fathers.
This, in time, gave rise to much abuse, like the alms bestowed on the
Church during the Middle Ages. But in the beginning the motive was
excellent. It was simply a wish to benefit others, arising from the
conviction, felt more strongly in the presence of death than at any
other time, that as we can carry nothing out of this world, we ought
to do as much good as possible in the world with our worldly goods. At
_S_raddhas the Brahma_n_as were said to represent the sacrificial fire
into which the gifts should be thrown.[310] If we translate here
Brahma_n_as by priests, we can easily understand why there should have
been in later times so strong a feeling against _S_raddhas. But priest
is a very bad rendering of Brahma_n_a. The Brahma_n_as were, socially
and intellectually, a class of men of high breeding. They were a
recognized and, no doubt, a most essential element in the ancient
society of India. As they lived for others, and were excluded from
most of the lucrative pursuits of life, it was a social, and it soon
became a religious duty, that they should be supported by the
community at large. Great care was taken that the recipients of such
bounty as was bestowed at _S_raddhas should be strangers, neither
friends nor enemies, and in no way related to the family. Thus
Apastamba says:[311] "The food eaten (at a _S_raddha) by persons
related to the giver is a gift offered to goblins. It reaches neither
the Manes nor the Gods." A man who tried to curry favor by bestowing
_S_raddhika gifts, was called by an opprobrious name, a
_S_raddha-mitra.[312]
Without denying therefore that in later times the system of
_S_raddhas may have degenerated, I think we can perceive that it
sprang from a pure source, and, what for our present purpose is even
more important, from an intelligible source.
Let us now return to the passage in the G_ri_hya-sutras of A_s_valayana,
where we met for the first time with the name of _S_raddha.[313] It was
the _S_raddha to be given for the sake of the Departed, after his ashes
had been collected in an urn and buried. This _S_raddha is called
ekoddish_t_a,[314] or, as we should say, personal. It was meant for one
person only, not for the three ancestors, nor for all the ancestors. Its
object was in fact to raise the departed to the rank of a Pit_ri_, and
this had to be achieved by _S_raddha offerings continued during a whole
year. This at least is the general, and, most likely, the original rule.
Apastamba says that the _S_raddha for a deceased relative should be
performed every day during the year, and that after that a monthly
_S_raddha only should be performed or none at all, that is, no more
personal _S_raddha,[315] because the departed shares henceforth in the
regular Parva_n_a-_s_raddhas.[316] _S_ankhayana says the same,[317] namely
that the personal _S_raddha lasts for a year, and that then "the Fourth"
is dropped, _i.e._ the great-grandfather was dropped, the grandfather
became the great-grandfather, the father the grandfather, while the
lately Departed occupied the father's place among the three principal
Pit_ris_.[318] This was called the Sapi_nd_ikara_n_a, _i.e._ the elevating
of the departed to the rank of an ancestor.
There are here, as elsewhere, many exceptions. Gobhila allows six
months instead of a year, or even a Tripaksha,[319] _i.e._ three
half-months; and lastly, any auspicious event (v_ri_ddhi) may become
the occasion of the Sapi_nd_ikara_n_a.[320]
The full number of _S_raddhas necessary for the Sapi_nd_ana is
sometimes given as sixteen, viz., the first, then one in each of the
twelve months, then two semestral ones, and lastly the Sapi_nd_ana.
But here too much variety is allowed, though, if the Sapi_nd_ana takes
place before the end of the year, the number of sixteen _S_raddhas has
still to be made up.[321]
When the _S_raddha is offered on account of an auspicious event, such
as a birth or a marriage, the fathers invoked are not the father,
grandfather, and great-grandfather, who are sometimes called
a_s_rumukha, with tearful faces, but the ancestors before them, and
they are called nandimukha, or joyful.[322]