In response to the prayers of the wise, a wish arose: may someone be born in our lineage who, on the sacred thirteenth day, offers nourishing food—rice cooked with honey and ghee—or who gives such gifts beneath the shade of an elephant. It is said that by offering goat or various kinds of meat, especially during the rainy season or under the auspicious Maghā constellation, many sons are to be desired. Even if only one son journeys to Gayā, marries a fair wife, or releases a blue bull, great merit accrues. Śaṃyu, eager to understand, asked his father, “Please tell me the fruits of Gayā and other holy places, and what merit comes to the ancestors from these acts.” Bṛhaspati replied, “At Gayā, śrāddha offerings are imperishable. Recitations, gifts, and austerities performed there remain forever, and thus, for the ancestors, Gayā is renowned as the place of imperishable merit.” Bṛhaspati continued, “A son born from Gaurī purifies twenty-one generations, and again and again purifies six maternal grandfathers—such is the fruit of her lineage. Listen now to the merit of releasing a bull: the person who sets free a bull purifies ten generations before and ten after. Moreover, wherever water that has washed the bull falls upon the earth, that act is considered imperishable for the ancestors. Any water touched by the bull—even by its tail or other limbs—becomes a source of imperishable merit for the forefathers, without doubt. Wherever the bull marks the ground with its horns or hooves, there the ancestors are satisfied forever by honeyed offerings. Though scriptures declare that building a tank measuring a thousand reeds brings satisfaction to ancestors, the joy brought by releasing a bull is even greater. Whoever gives sesame mixed with jaggery or honey at a śrāddha, all such offerings become imperishable for the ancestors.” Turning to the conduct of the rite, Bṛhaspati advised, “A man should not always test brāhmaṇas when giving; but in divine and ancestral rites, testing is indeed prescribed. Invite those twice-born who have bathed after fulfilling all Vedic vows, who purify the rows, who are foremost in the knowledge of commentaries, and who delight in grammar. Seek out those who study the Purāṇas and Dharmaśāstra, who know the three Nāciketa fires, the five fires, the Trisuparṇa, and the six limbs of the Veda. Prefer sons born of brāhmaṇa wives, chanters of the Chāndogya, eldest singers of the Sāma Veda, and those who have performed vows at holy places. Invite those who have heard the Avabhṛtha at chief sacrifices, who always observe vows, and who are ever devoted to their own duties. Those who are free from anger, intent on peace, and always established in ten kinds of good deeds—these are worthy of śrāddha. Whatever is given to such brāhmaṇas is imperishable; they purify the rows. Brāhmaṇas devoted to yoga and dharma are to be revered. They are the 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 and most auspicious worlds.” Bṛhaspati declared, “Of all duties, the discipline of yoga is foremost. Now hear of those who are unfit for receiving śrāddha offerings: a gambler, a drunkard, one afflicted with consumption, a herdsman, one of bad appearance, a village messenger, a trader, a singer, and a merchant; one who burns houses, a poisoner, one who eats from a common vessel, a seller of soma, a sea voyager, one who deals in skins, an oil merchant, and a maker of counterfeit goods; one who quarrels with his father, one whose wife is unchaste at home, one who is cursed, a thief, and one who makes a living by crafts; a matchmaker, one who performs forbidden acts on festival days, one who betrays friends, a professional beggar, an atheist, and one devoid of Vedic knowledge; one who is insane, a eunuch, a slanderer, a killer of a fetus, one who violates the teacher’s bed, a physician who lives by his practice, a messenger, and one who goes to another man's wife; one who sells the Veda, vows, or austerities. What is given to an atheist, an ingrate, or a slanderer is lost. Likewise, whatever is given to a merchant here yields no result, neither here nor hereafter; nor to one who misappropriates deposits, a gambler, or a reviler of the Veda. Similarly, to a merchant, an artisan devoid of righteousness, one who disparages goods when buying and praises them when selling, one who dwells in falsehood, or a merchant, is not worthy of śrāddha. An offering made to a remarried twice-born is like ashes—it is fruitless.” He warned, “A one-eyed man destroys the fruit of sixty donors, a eunuch that of a hundred, a leper as long as he is seen, and a man afflicted with evil disease destroys the fruit of a thousand donors. Therefore, the donor loses the good fruit if he is foolish. One who eats with his head covered, or facing south, also loses it. One who eats with sandals on, or gives with disrespect, all such offerings the Lord of the Asuras claims as his share.” Bṛhaspati continued, “Dogs and demons must never witness the rite in any way; therefore, one should make a protective circle with sesame seeds scattered around. Sesame seeds are said to belong to the demons, and the protective circle to the dogs; by sight, a boar destroys, and by partiality, a cock does so. If contact is made with a menstruous woman, or if offerings are given in anger, or at the urging of a friend, neither the ancestors nor the gods are pleased, nor does one attain heaven.” He advised, “On beautiful riverbanks, in streams and lakes, and in secluded places, the ancestors are pleased by what is given there. One should never shed tears, nor utter improper words, nor harbor jealousy while eating at that time. When the leftward rite is performed properly with darbha grass in hand, the funeral offering to the ancestors should be made; in this way, one truly pleases the forefathers. Beginning with the Anumati rite, one should offer to the Brahmins in the fire according to rule; for the ancestors, one should deposit the offerings on the ground, or on a winnowing basket, or on a darbha grass mat.” Thus, Bṛhaspati revealed the sacred procedures and the deep merits of honoring ancestors, teaching that when performed with purity, discernment, and reverence, these rites bring lasting satisfaction and blessings to both ancestors and the living.