tion of the
celestial messenger, I shall explain the same to thee. Do thou hear, O
monarch, what the conclusions are with respect to the ordinances about
the Sraddha. Listen with rapt attention, O Bharata, to me as I explain
what the end is of the three rice-balls. That rice-ball which goes into
water is regarded as gratifying the deity of the moon. That deity, thus
gratified, O thou of great intelligence, gratifies in return the other
deities and the Pitris also with them. It has been laid down that the
second rice-ball should be eaten by the spouse (of the man that performs
the Sraddha). The Pitris, who are ever desirous of progeny, confer
children on the woman of the house. Listen now to me as I tell thee what
becomes of the rice-ball that is cast into the blazing fire. With that
ball the Pitris are gratified and as the result thereof they grant the
fruition of all wishes unto the person offering it. I have thus told thee
everything about the end of the three rice-balls offered at the Sraddha
and consigned to the three (viz., water, the spouse, and the fire). That
Brahmana who becomes the Ritwik at a Sraddha constitutes himself, by that
act, the Pitri of the person performing the Sraddha. Hence, he should
abstain that day from sexual intercourse with even his own spouse[542]. O
best of all rangers of the sky, the man who eats at Sraddha should bear
himself with purity for that day. By acting otherwise, one surely incurs
the faults I have indicated. It cannot be otherwise. Hence, the Brahmana
who is invited to a Sraddha for eating the offerings should eat them
after purifying himself by a bath and bear himself piously for that day
by abstaining from every kind of injury or evil. The progeny of such a
person multiply and he also who feeds him reaps the same reward.'"

"'Bhishma continued, "After the Pitris said so, a Rishi of austere
penances, named Vidyutprabha, whose form shone with splendour like that
of the sun, spoke. Having heard those mysteries of religion as propounded
by the Pitris, he addressed Sakra, saying, 'Stupefied by folly, men slay
numerous creatures born in the intermediate orders, such as worms and
ants and snakes and sheep and deer and birds. Heavy is the measure of sin
they incur by these acts. What, however, is the remedy?' When this
question was asked, all the gods and Rishis endued with wealth of
penances and the highly blessed Pitris, applauded that ascetic.

"'"Sakra said, 'Thinking in one's m