It would be quite impossible to give here even an abstract only of the minute regulations which have been preserved to us in the Brâhmanas, the Srauta, Grihya, and Sâmayâkârika Sûtras, 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 Srâddhas 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 Sâstras, 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 Sûtras. 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 Pitriyagña, as one of the five Great Sacrifices (Mahâyagñas);
2. The monthly ancestral sacrifice, the Pinda-pitri-yagña, 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 Srâddhas, at which food and other charitable gifts were bestowed on deserving persons in memory of the deceased ancestors. The name of Srâddha belongs properly to this last class only, but it has been transferred to the second and third class of sacrifices also, because Srâddha formed an important part in them.
The daily Pitriyagña 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 Grihya-sûtras (Âsv. III. 1), as Devayagña, for the Devas, Bhûtayagña, for animals, etc., Pitriyagña, for the Fathers, Brahmayagña, for Brahman, i.e. study of the Veda, and Manushyayagña, 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 Pitri-sacrifice, i.e. the offering of cakes and water to the Manes (sometimes called Prâsita).