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