Page:History of India Vol 1.djvu/300

. Then followed marriage and the setting up of fires, and the student became a householder, and had other and graver duties to perform.

The most important of the Grihya rites was the Sraddha, or monthly offering to the departed fathers, and the feeding of Brahmans. "Brahmans endowed with learning, moral character, and correct conduct," were invited, and sat down "as representatives of the fathers" to whom the oblations were offered. The sacrificer then offered the Arghya water to the fathers with the words, "Father, this is thy Arghya; Grandfather, this is thy Arghya; Great-grandfather, this is thy Arghya." Gifts of perfumes, garlands, incense, lights, and clothes were then made to the Brahmans. With the permission of the Brahmans, food of the Sthalipaka prepared for the Pindapitriyajna was smeared with ghee and sacrificed in the fire, or in the hands of the Brahmans, together with other food. And when the sacrificer saw that the Brahmans were satiated, he recited the Vedic verse, "They have eaten, they have enjoyed themselves."

Parvana.—This was the rite observed on the new and full moon days, and consisted in fasting, as well as in offering cooked oblations to the deities of those days, with appropriate mantras.

Sravani.—This was a rite observed on the full moon day of the month of Sravana in the rainy season, and the idea was to propitiate serpents, which multiply in India in the rains.

Asvayugi.—This was a rite performed on the full