Verse 3.221

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

पिता यस्य निवृत्तः स्याज् जीवेच्चापि पितामहः ।
पितुः स नाम सङ्कीर्त्य कीर्तयेत् प्रपितामहम् ॥ २२१ ॥

pitā yasya nivṛttaḥ syāj jīveccāpi pitāmahaḥ |
pituḥ sa nāma saṅkīrtya kīrtayet prapitāmaham || 221 ||

He whose father is dead, but grandfather is living, should mention the great-grandfather after having pronounced the name of the father.—(221)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

The pronouncing of the Father’s name stands here for his invitation, offering of the ball and the feeding of Brāhmaṇas.

‘Should mention the great-grandfather;’—i.e., he should not make any offering to the living grandfather; it should be made to his previous ancestors; as it has been declared that ‘one should make offerings to his father’s ancestors.’—(221)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Madanapārijāta (p. 542), which, in explaining the phrase ‘pituḥ svanāma saṅkīrtya,’ says that in offering the Ball—to his own great-grandfather, e.g., he should refer to him as ‘the grandfather of my father, so aṇd so’;—also in Nirṇayasindhu (p. 362) in support of the view that if the grandfather be living, the offerings; should be made to the Father, the great-grandfather and the great-great-grandfather;—and in Śrāddhakriyākaumudī (p. 553), which notes that ‘nāmakīrtaṇa,’ ‘mentioning of the name’ stands for ‘offering the Śrāddha’ and ‘prapitāmaha,’ ‘great-grandfather’ means the ‘great-great-grandfather’ also.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

Viṣṇu (75.4).—‘He whose father is dead shall offer the ball to his father and then to the two ancestors above the grand-father.’

Laghu-Ā svalāyana (20.38).—‘If the father dies while the grand-father is alive, three balls shall be offered beginning with the great-grand-father.’