Shraddha (“faithful”) - An ancestral memorial ritual
performed for a single individual (ekoddishta) or for a group of people, with
the main beneficiaries being one's three paternal ancestors (parvana).
An ekoddishta shraddha is normally conducted for the first
time on the eleventh day following a person's death, although it may be
repeated on the death anniversary.
It is also commonly conducted every year during the
Pitrpaksha, a two-week period dedicated to such ceremonies, on the lunar day
that coincides to the lunar day of death during this time.
A parvana shraddha may be performed on many different
occasions and for many different reasons.
Shraddhas are classified as belonging to all three types of
ritual activity in the dharma literature and commentaries: nitya, naimittika,
and kamya.
Because they are prescribed at certain periods, such as
during the Pitrpaksha, some shraddhas are obliga tory (nitya).
Other shraddhas are sporadic (naimittika) since they are
only required under particular circumstances, such as giving a tirtha shraddha
while visiting a pilgrimage site (tirtha).
Finally, desiderative (kamya) shraddhas are done voluntarily
because of a desire (kama) for particular rewards from them—usually imagined as
the well-being of one's ancestors.
Whatever the reason for delivering the shraddha, the overall
practice always includes two elements: symbolically feeding one's ancestor(s)
by providing fried grain balls (pindas) and serving actual food to a group of
brahmins (Hinduism's highest social position) who symbolize one's ancestors.
Each of these sections has a considerable lot of ceremonial
complexity, and there is some debate regarding which should come first,
although in current times, the pindas are usually offered before the meal.
Many books extol the spiritual benefits of feeding brahmins,
which is not unexpected given that the majority of these texts were authored by
brahmins, and for many brahmins living near pilgrimage sites, these shraddhas
were (and still are) an essential source of income.
Many individuals, however, consider this kind of income to
be parasitic and possibly inauspicious since it is obtained via ceremonies done
for the deceased.
Pandurang Vaman Kane's A History of Dharmasastra was
published in 1968, while Raj Bali Pandey's Hindu Samskaras was published in
1969.
