Hear now the sacred account of the fruits of performing śrāddha, as revealed in the Vāyu Purāṇa. The wise declare that when a person performs śrāddha under the auspicious Uttara constellations, with proper conduct and accompanied by sons, he becomes distinguished among the virtuous. If he satisfies the ancestors under the Hasta constellation, he rises to preeminence among men. Should one perform śrāddha under Citrā, he is blessed with handsome sons; under Svāti, he finds himself in the company of the learned. If a man desires offspring, he should choose Viśākhā for his rite; but by choosing Anurādhā, he sets the wheel of prosperity in motion. Those who perform śrāddha beneath Jyeṣṭhā attain lordship and excellence; under Mūla, health is sought; under Āṣāḍhā, great fame is won. Performing the rite during Uttarāṣāḍhā and Śravaṇā removes sorrow, and in Śravaṇā, one attains the highest station among the virtuous. In Dhaniṣṭhā, the performer gains abundant wealth and a share in sovereignty. Should the rite be performed in Abhijit, the fruit associated with the Ajāvika path is attained. Under the Vāruṇī constellation, mastery in medicine is granted; in Pūrvā Proṣṭhapadā, again, the Ajāvika fruit is secured. By performing śrāddha in the Uttarā constellations, one is blessed with thousands of cows; in Revatī, wealth of many forms is received; in Aśvinī, horses are obtained; and in Bharaṇī, supreme longevity is bestowed. It is said that by the power of this very śrāddha, king Śaśabindu gained dominion over the entire earth, and having obtained all, he praised this rite with great devotion. Thus concludes the twentieth chapter, describing the fruits of śrāddha according to the constellations, as spoken by Vāyu. Thereupon, Śaṃyu, full of faith, asked, “O best of speakers, even a little given to the ancestors brings benefit. But what leads to long-lasting or eternal results?” Bṛhaspati replied, “Listen as I reveal to you all the offerings known to the wise as proper at the time of śrāddha, and their respective fruits. By offering sesame, rice, barley, black gram, water, roots, and fruits, the grandfathers are pleased for one month. If fish is offered, their satisfaction lasts for two months; with deer meat, three months; with hare, four months; with bird, five months. With boar as the offering, satisfaction endures for six months; with goat, seven months; with partridge, eight months. If ruru deer is offered, the grandfathers are pleased for nine months; wild ox meat brings satisfaction for ten months. Tortoise meat pleases them for eleven months, but with the offering of cow’s meat at śrāddha, their satisfaction lasts a whole year. Moreover, rice cooked with cow’s milk, honey, and ghee, as well as the meat of vadhrīṇasa, brings satisfaction for twelve years. For endless satisfaction, offerings of swordfish meat at the waning of the ancestors, or black goat, or monitor lizard, are prescribed—these are suitable for eternity. On this subject, the knowers of old recite the songs of the ancestors, which I shall now declare to you. May one be born in our lineage who gives food on the thirteenth day—especially rice cooked with honey and ghee, or in the shade of an elephant. By offering goat or all kinds of meat, and especially in the rainy season or under the Maghā constellation, many sons are to be desired—even if only one goes to Gayā, or marries a fair wife, or releases a blue bull. Śaṃyu then asked, “O father, tell me the fruits of Gayā and other sacred places, as well as the merit that accrues to the ancestors.” Bṛhaspati replied, “At Gayā, the śrāddha is imperishable, as are recitation, offerings, and austerities. For the ancestors, whatever is performed there is called imperishable. A son born from Gaurī purifies twenty-one generations and six maternal grandfathers, again and again—such is her fruit. Hear now the fruit of releasing a bull: the one who performs this act surely purifies ten generations before and ten after. Whatever is touched by the water that has washed the bull and falls upon the earth, that act is said to be imperishable for the ancestors. Wherever the bull marks the ground with its horns or hooves, there the ancestors are satisfied imperishably by the honeyed offerings. The scriptures say that by gifting a tank measuring a thousand reeds, the ancestors are satisfied; but the satisfaction arising from releasing a bull is greater still. Whoever gives sesame mixed with jaggery or honey at a śrāddha, all of that becomes imperishable for the ancestors. Now, hear further instructions: A man should not always test brāhmaṇas when giving, but in divine and ancestral rites, such testing is indeed prescribed. Those twice-born who have bathed after completing all Vedic vows, who purify the rows, who are foremost in the knowledge of commentaries, and who delight in grammar; who study the Purāṇas and Dharmaśāstra, who know the three Nāciketa fires, the five fires, the Trisuparṇa, and the six limbs of the Veda; who are sons born of a brāhmaṇa wife, who are chanters of the Chāndogya, who are eldest singers of the Sāma Veda, and who have performed vows at holy places; who have heard the Avabhṛtha at the chief sacrifices, who always observe vows, and who are ever devoted to their own duties; who are free from anger, intent on peace, and always established in ten kinds of good deeds—invite such brāhmaṇas to the śrāddha. Whatever is given to these is imperishable; they purify the rows. The brāhmaṇas who are devoted to the discipline of yoga and dharma are to be revered. They are foremost in dharma and āśrama; in offerings to gods and ancestors, they excel. By honoring them, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara are all worshipped. Whoever honors these, together with the ancestors, attains the purest of the pure and the most auspicious among all worlds.