श्राद्ध mfn. mf(ई)n. (
fr. श्रद्-धा) faithful, true, loyal, believing,
[HPariś.] ;
[SaddhP.] (
cf. [Pāṇ. 5-2, 101] )
relating to a
श्राद्ध ceremony,
[Cat.] श्राद्ध n. n. a ceremony in honour and for the benefit of dead relatives observed with great strictness at various fixed periods and on occasions of rejoicing as well as mourning by the surviving relatives (these ceremonies are performed by the daily offering of water and on stated occasions by the offering of
पिण्डs or balls of rice and meal [see
पिण्ड] to three paternal and three maternal forefathers
i.e. to father, grandfather, and great grandfather; it should be borne in mind that a
श्राद्ध is not a funeral ceremony [
अन्त्ये-ष्टि] but a supplement to such a ceremony; it is an act of reverential homage to a deceased person performed by relatives, and is moreover supposed to supply the dead with strengthening nutriment after the performance of the previous funeral ceremonies has endowed them with ethereal bodies; indeed until those
अन्त्ये-ष्टि, or ‘funeral rites’ have been performed, and until the succeeding first
श्राद्ध has been celebrated the deceased relative is a
प्रे-त or restless, wandering ghost, and has no real body [only a
लिङ्ग-शरीरq.v. ]; it is not until the first
श्राद्ध has taken place that he attains a position among the
पितृs or Divine Fathers in their blissful abode called
पितृ-लोक, and the
Śr° is most desirable and efficacious when performed by a son; for a full description of the
श्राद्ध ceremonies See,
[RTL. 276, 304 &c.] ),
[GṛŚrS.] ;
[Mn.] ;
[MBh.] &c.
gifts or offerings at a
श्राद्ध,
[MW.]