Listen, O seeker, to the counsel of the ancient scripture regarding the proper conduct of sacred rites for the ancestors. It is said that one should never offer oblations to an unworthy recipient—for just as offerings are not poured into cold ashes, so too should they not be given where they bear no fruit. If an oblation is made to one who does not recite the sacred Ṛc hymns, the giver gains no benefit from his act. After death, such a giver must endure the torment of consuming as many burning, coarse lumps as the number of improper offerings he made. Where unworthy individuals consume the sacred offerings, O twice-born, know that such acts are tainted with demonic influence. A wicked brāhmaṇa, one who has fallen from the path of righteousness, is never fit to receive offerings in śrāddha or similar rites. Those who live by slaughter or the bondage of others—these six are but brāhmaṇa-bandhus, kin of brāhmaṇas in name alone, unworthy of the sacred rites. Brāhmaṇas who sell the Veda are condemned in the context of śrāddha and related ceremonies. Similarly, those who officiate for the unqualified, or who teach the Vedas to those unfit, are declared fallen from grace. Those belonging to the Kāpālika, Pāśupata, Pāṣaṇḍa sects, and others of similar kind, are also to be excluded; for offerings made to them yield no results in this world or the next. Brāhmaṇas who falsely claim an āśrama, a spiritual stage of life, are to be known as defilers of their lineage. Likewise, those who beget children with a widow, a thief, an impotent man, or an atheist are unworthy. So too are house-burners, those who eat from pits, twice-born who sell Soma, those born of remarriage, usurers, astrologers, those with defective or excessive limbs, and those who waste their seed. Betrayers of friends, slanderers, men always subservient to their wives, breakers of lineage, those who have lost their purity, or who have touched forbidden stalks, those who travel across the sea, murderers, breakers of agreements, and those who delight in reviling the twice-born—all these are to be excluded from śrāddha and similar rites. The betrayer of friends, deceivers, and especially those who corrupt the line of guests, as well as those who have abandoned contemplation of Brahman, must be diligently avoided. A brāhmaṇa who neglects the great sacrifices, or who is dominated by darkness or passion, is also a corrupter of the line of guests. All those who practice condemned acts must be shunned with care. When the time comes to perform śrāddha, let the householder assemble all the twice-born, inviting them along with virtuous people. If this is not possible, then on the following day, he should invite those who possess the prescribed qualities. These worthy ones, meditating upon each other with pure intent, gather together with the swiftness of thought. Like the wind, they come and remain, and after partaking of the offerings, they attain the highest state. All participants should remain disciplined and devoted to celibacy. The performer of the śrāddha must avoid undue burdens, sexual intercourse, travel, and even recitation on that day. Should he fail in these disciplines, he risks falling into a terrible hell, being reborn as a pig, or, if his actions are even more sinful, as a worm in excrement. He incurs the grave sin of killing a brāhmaṇa and may be reborn among animals. For a month, his ancestors must subsist on food made of earth, or even on filth, as a result of his negligence. Therefore, let the performer be free from anger, devoted to purity, diligent in righteous deeds, and master of his senses. He should draw water from the southern tip, taking it up with its roots, ensuring it is pure. He should also smear a clean, secluded place with cow dung, for the ancestors are always pleased by offerings made in such pure and solitary places. Thus, by following these instructions, the rites will be fulfilled and the ancestors honored.