At the sacred gathering, the ancient fathers called upon Sarasvati, the sinless goddess, she who delights in hymns and rides her chariot with the forefathers. The fathers, having taken their seats upon the holy darbha grass, rejoiced together, and they prayed to Sarasvati: “Bestow food upon us, O gracious one.” Sarasvati, radiant and powerful, was invoked to grant the worshippers a thousandfold share of food and wealth, to come with the fathers and bless the sacrifice. The assembled invoked all the fathers—those of the lower, middle, and higher realms, the enjoyers of Soma—asking that these sinless, truth-knowing ancestors rise and protect the offerings. They remembered the wise fathers, the offspring and stride of Vishnu, those who, seated on the sacred grass, partook of the pressed Soma by their own power. With reverence, they invited these fathers to join the sacred rite, to come most willingly. Homage was offered to all the fathers: those who lived long ago and those who came later, those who had departed, those settled on earth, and those dwelling in the well-populated directions. They honored Mātali with the Kavyas, Yama with the Angirases, Brihaspati with the Rkvans, and all those whom the gods had strengthened, as well as those who themselves are gods. The prayer was for these fathers to protect the offerings. The sweet, honeyed, and potent Soma was praised—none who drank of it, O Indra, could be overcome in battle. Yama, the king and gatherer of peoples, son of Vivasvat, who has gone far and sought many paths, was honored with oblations. It was Yama who first found the path for mortals to follow, leading to the pasture that cannot be taken away, where the forefathers, the righteous departed, have gone. The fathers were invited to draw near and accept the offerings prepared for them, to bestow health and sinlessness upon their descendants. All the gods were asked to accept the offerings, seated with their right knee bent, and the fathers were implored not to cause harm for any human error that might have occurred. The myth of Tvaṣṭṛ, who made a husband for his daughter and thus united the world, was recalled. The mother of Yama, embraced, vanished as the wife of Vivasvat in her greatness. The departed were bid to go forth on the ancient paths their forefathers had taken, where they would see Yama and Varuṇa, both kings, rejoicing in their own realm. The living, too, were urged to move on, to scatter in all directions, for the fathers had prepared this world for the departed. By the passage of days and nights and by the waters, Yama grants each their resting place. With brightness and radiance, Agni was kindled to bring the fathers to the offering and sacrificial fire. The Angirases, the Navagvas, the Atharvans, the Bhṛgus, and all the Soma-rich ancestors were invoked for their favor and graciousness. Yama was called to come with the Angirases, to delight with the multiform ones, and Vivasvat, his father, was invited to sit on the sacred grass. Yama was asked not to ascend the sacred grass, but to join with the Angirases and the fathers, and to accept the hymns composed by the sages, rejoicing in the offering. The Angirases, victorious, were remembered for having risen to the heights of heaven, ascending to the sky. For Yama, the Soma was purified and the offerings made, the sacrifice sent by Agni as messenger. The sweetest, honeyed oblations were offered to Yama, in homage to the ancient seers and forefathers who blazed the paths before. To Yama, the king, was given ghee and milk, that he might grant long life among the living. Agni, the Jātavedas, was asked not to burn or scorch the departed, but, when he had cooked him, to send him forth to the fathers. If the departed should stray from righteousness, he would be subject to the powers of the gods. Soma was purified with the three Kadrus and six broad vessels, and all the meters—Triṣṭubh and Gāyatrī—were offered to Yama. The soul was urged to go with its eye to the sun, with its breath to the wind, to heaven and earth by righteousness, or to the waters or the plants, according to its wish. The unborn portion belonged to austerity, and the living were exhorted to practice tapas for that part. Jātavedas was asked, with his auspicious flames, to carry the departed to the world of the righteous. Agni’s swift and shining flames, which fill the sky and midspace, were invoked to follow the one who is led forth and to purify him with their most auspicious fire. Agni was asked to release the departed to the fathers, and let the remainder, clothed in life, approach and unite, shining in body. The departed was urged to go past Yama’s two four-eyed, mottled dogs, Sārameya, who guard the path and observe men, and to approach the fathers rejoicing at Yama’s feast. Yama was implored to entrust the departed to the care of his dogs, granting safety and freedom from harm. These messengers of Yama, wide-nosed and fig-wood colored, roam among people, eager for offerings, and were asked to return the living to the sun, granting well-being. Some ancestors were honored with Soma, others with clarified butter or honey. The departed was bidden to go to all these, to the seers and ascetics, followers of truth, born and grown by truth, who reached heaven by austerity, who fought in battles and gave gifts, and to the thousand-guided sages who guard the Sun. The earth was called upon to be gentle and unshaking, to grant the departed a secure and broad resting place. In the wide, unconfined space of the earth, the departed was laid down, with the hope that the offerings made in life would flow with sweetness for him, and that he would find peace among the ancestors.