Listen, as the sacred rites of honoring the ancestors are revealed in vivid detail, guiding one toward prosperity both on earth and in heaven. Through brilliance, fame, beauty, and strength, a person becomes radiant, shining among mortals and in the celestial realms, delighting amidst apsaras and at the forefront of divine vehicles. To please the ancestors, one must offer fragrances, flowers, incense, clarified butter, grains, fruits, roots, and respectful salutations, all with devotion and purity. After honoring Brahmins and animals, one should worship the ancestors with nourishing food. At the time of śrāddha, the ancestors, subtle as the wind, enter upon seeing the Brahmins; this is declared for your understanding. The foremost Brahmins are to be honored with gifts—clothes, food, offerings, eatables, drinks, cows, horses, and even villages. When Brahmins are properly honored, the ancestors are pleased; thus, one should worship them with food. The Brahmin, diligent in the śrāddha ritual, marks and sprinkles with both hands. Offerings of darbha grass, rice balls, various foods, flowers, fragrances, and ornaments must be made separately, as prescribed. After nourishing the gathered people, the Brahmin attains superiority and performs the anointing with three bundles of darbha grass, as tradition demands. Excellent food is given to the ancestors with the left hand, accompanied by the utterance of their names; cloth and thread are also offered to all. Cutting, nourishing, and marking are performed once for the gods and three times for the ancestors. With a pure cloth in hand, one offers to all ancestors the sight-born gift to the rice-balls, accompanied by the proper mantra, again and again. Three rice-balls, mixed with clarified butter and sesame seeds, are placed upon the ground, the left knee down, as prescribed. Facing east, one carefully encircles the rice-balls with water from the ancestral side, having invoked the ancestors, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers. Some choose to honor maternal ancestors separately, with food, water, flowers, and various edibles. The three nourishing rice-balls are offered in order, using the thumb, between the knees, with careful attention to sequence. With the left and upper hands, and the dharma mantra in turn, one says: “Homage to you, O subtle ancestors.” With the right hand, the rice-ball is released first, reciting: “Homage to you, O gentle ancestors.” At the line of the mortar and water vessel, one serves attentively with the left and upper hands. New linen thread, red cotton cloth, woolen or bark cloth, and the ancestral thread are to be offered; silk should be avoided. Torn or soiled cloth must not be used, for such displeases the ancestors and brings no prosperity to the giver. The best is the three-knotted collyrium and oil preserved from black sesame seeds. Sandalwood, aguru, tamala, usira, bhaka, and the finest incense—guggulu and turushka—are recommended. The best flowers are white and fragrant, lotuses and water-lilies, and all other suitable, fragrant blooms. Certain flowers—javā, sumanas, bhaṇḍīra, upakāma, and kuraṇḍaka—are always to be avoided in śrāddha. Flowers lacking fragrance or with only a faint scent should not be used by one seeking prosperity. The twice-born, thus seated, should face north in discipline, while the sacrificer worships facing south, as prescribed. Facing the ancestors, one carefully offers darbha grass and rice-balls, directly honoring one’s grandfathers in this way. Darbha grass, green with a touch of yellow, moist with flowers, well-arranged, and the size of a barley grain, is placed at the ancestral spot. At the base of roots, dark stones and other such things arise abundantly; grasses such as śmāmāka, nīvāra, and durvā are mentioned. The most excellent Prajāpati, previously praised, then emerged; his hairs fell to earth from the path of the sky. Thus, those pure and elevated grasses are honored in the śrāddha rite; one desiring prosperity should offer rice-balls upon them. Fertility of offspring, radiance, fame, and beauty endowed with charm for descendants arise for those pure of sin and free from evil. Darbha grass is spread once, facing south, for the piṇḍa offering; the tips point southeast, as prescribed. The wise should perform śrāddha with a focused mind, avoiding dejection, anger, or distraction. Any impurity is destroyed; all gods and demons hostile to the rite, as well as rakṣasas, yakṣas, piśācas, and yātudhānas, are slain. When the father sees the food offered in this way, all asuras avoid it; wherever the protective mantra is recited, the rākṣasas keep away. The twice-born should always perform śrāddha according to this procedure; whatever is desired in the mind, the ancestors grant. The ancestors become joyful in heart, while demons are dispirited whenever śrāddha is performed with constant effort. Certain grasses—śūdra, śrāddha, kṣīrava, balvaja, tarava, vāraṇa, lavā, lavavarṣa, and similar kinds—should always be avoided in śrāddha. The application of ointments, perfumes, and anointing, as well as the use of kāśa and punarbhava grasses, should be performed; all desired results will thus be obtained. Such is the sacred method of honoring the ancestors, bringing joy to them and prosperity to their descendants, as revealed in the scripture.