Origin of Śrāddha: Nimi, Atri and Agni

Yudhishṭhira asked Bhīshma who first thought of śrāddha (the rite of offerings to the departed forefathers), in which age, and how. Bhīshma answered with the account of the ṛshi Atri’s family. Nimi, Atri’s grandson, gave the first śrāddha in grief for his son Śrīmanta, and then feared he had broken dharma. Atri himself came and taught him the full rite, which Brahmā had set down long before. Chapter 92 goes on to tell why Agni receives the first portion at every śrāddha.

Yudhishṭhira’s question

Yudhishṭhira asked Bhīshma: who first thought of śrāddha, in what age and in what manner, and which muni, in the time of the Bhṛgus and Aṅgirases, first practised it?

The line of Atri

Bhīshma answered by naming the line. Atri was the great svāyaṃbhuva ṛshi, and his famous son was Dattātreya. Dattātreya’s son was Nimi, a ṛshi whose wealth was tapas (austerity). Nimi’s son was the rich tapasvin Śrīmanta. Śrīmanta did a thousand years of tapas, beyond the power of ordinary men. At the end of it his body, which is bound by kāla-dharma (the law of time), died.

Nimi’s grief and the rite he made

Nimi performed the usual purifying rites for his son’s body, but he stayed sunk in grief. On the fourteenth day, still sorrowing, he laid out rich food and bedding and rose before dawn. As his mind grew calm, his grief gave way to wider thought. He considered which roots and fruits were fit as offerings. On the amāvāsyā (new-moon day) he invited seven eminent brāhmaṇas and himself seated them in a ring.

He served the seven brāhmaṇas unsalted rice of cāma grain. He laid dūrvā grass with its tips pointing south on their seats and under their feet. With śraddhā (faith) and inner purity he offered piṇḍas (rice balls) in Śrīmanta’s name and gotra, using dūrvā with the same southward tips.

Nimi’s fear

When the rite was done, Nimi, though one of the greatest of munis, was struck by fear. He feared that he had committed dharma-saṅkara (a breach of dharma). He reproached himself: “What have I done that no muni before me has done? Why should the brāhmaṇas not burn me with their śāpa (curse)?”

Atri comforts Nimi and teaches the full rite

Nimi thought on his forefather Atri, who came to him at once. Atri saw his grandson stricken with grief and self-doubt. Free of all unrest, Atri comforted him: “Tapodhana (rich in tapas)! Nimi! Fear nothing. This pitṛ-yajña is the very dharma that Brahmā himself found long ago. The rite you have given form to was set down by Brahmā. Who but Brahmā could set down the vidhi (rule) of śrāddha? I shall teach you this highest vidhi, which Brahmā himself set down. Take it and practise it.”

Atri then taught Nimi the full vidhi.

The order of offerings. First the karaṇa is made into Agni, with mantras said before it. Then come āhutis (offerings) to Agni, Soma and Varuṇa. The Viśvedevas take their share of the homa together with the pitṛs. They receive the shares that Brahmā himself gave them.
Words said while fetching water. Vaishṇavī and Kāśyapī, the two earth-devīs who carry the waters offered to the pitṛs, are praised as never running dry in their giving. Varuṇa, who is all-pervading, is praised while the water is drawn. After that Agni and Candra are praised with stotras (hymns) of thanks.
The seven of the pitṛ line. Brahmā set the line of pitṛs as a group of seven. Men who honour them with śrāddha free them from what remains of the pāpa (sin) that is born of naraka.
The Viśvedevas by name. Atri named a great company of Viśvedevas fit to receive the śrāddha portion. They include Bala, Dhṛti, Vipāpma, Puṇyakṛt, Pāvana, Pārshṇikshema, Samūha, Divyasānu, Vivasvanta, Vīryavanta, Hrīmanta, Kīrtimanta, Kratu, Jitātma, Munivīrya, Dīptaromā, Bhayaṃkara, Anukarma, Pratīta, Pradāta, Aṃśumanta, Śailābha, Paramakrodhī, Dhīroshṇi, Bhūti, Praja, Vajra and Vari. These are called the eternal (sanātana) Viśvedevas. A further company includes Vidyujjihva, Somavarcas, Sūryaśrī, Somapa, Sūryasāvitra, Dattātma, Puṇḍarīyaka, Ushṇīnābha, Nabhoda, Viśvāyu, Dīpti, Camūhara, Sukeśa, Vyomāri, Śaṅkara, Bhava, Īśa, Kartā, Kṛti, Daksha, Bhuvana, Divyakarmakṛt, Gaṇita, Pañcavīrya, Āditya, Raśmimanta, Saptakshṭu, Somavarṇa, Viśvakṛt, Kavi, Anugoptā, Sugoptā, Napta and Īśvara.
Forbidden substances. These are not fit for śrāddha: pulaka (unripe or empty grain), garlic and onion used as flavouring, sauñjana, kovidāra (the red-flowered kinds), meat cut with a poisoned blade, gourd and pumpkin, black salt, meat kept overnight, food not sprinkled with water made holy by mantra, black cumin, viḍa-lavaṇa (a kind of rock salt), the śītapākī herb, śṛṅgāṭaka and like plants, bamboo shoots, every kind of common salt, and nēredu (jambul) fruit. Food that has been sneezed on, or on which tears have fallen, is also forbidden.
The sudarśana herb. This plant is declared unlucky both in tarpaṇa (offering of water) and in havya and kavya (offerings to devas and pitṛs). Neither the pitṛs nor the devas accept an offering that has it in it.
Those kept away from the tarpaṇa rite. Those who eat beef or horseflesh, a man who wears the kāshāya (ochre) robe without right, a leper, a patita (one fallen from proper custom), one who has committed brahmahatyā, a brāhmaṇa born of a saṅkara (mixed) union, and a fallen relative must all be kept away from the pitṛ-tarpaṇa.

Atri taught this whole vidhi to Nimi, a descendant of his line. Then Bhagavān Atri, rich in tapas, went to the divine hall of Brahmā.

Chapter 92: why Agni receives the first portion

Bhīshma goes on. Once Nimi had done this rite, all the great ṛshis took it up. They kept the vidhi of the pitṛ-yajña as the śāstra gives it, with firm vratas (vows) and pure waters, and performed nivāpana (the offering to forefathers) and tarpaṇa. All four varṇas began to offer tarpaṇa. The pitṛs and devas were so filled that they could not digest the heaped-up food of these offerings. They were afflicted by indigestion.

In distress the pitṛs went to Soma (Candra) and told him of their trouble. Soma answered: “Suras (devas)! If you want your good, go to the home of Brahmā. He alone can give you relief.” The devas and pitṛs went together to Brahmā, who sat on the summit of Meru, and begged him: “Bhagavān Brahmā! We are greatly afflicted by śrāddha food. Have mercy on us and give us relief.” Brahmā answered: “Here beside me is Agni Deva. He will bring you relief.”

Agni then spoke: “Noble ones! When a śrāddha comes, let us all eat together. Food eaten together with me will be digested without fail. Of this there is no doubt.” On hearing this, the pitṛs’ distress was gone.

For this reason, in every śrāddha done since, food is offered to Agni first. And because Agni is present there, the brahmarākshasas cannot disturb the nivāpana. Where Agni is present, the rākshasas withdraw.

The order of the piṇḍa and the tarpaṇa

Bhīshma then gave more rules of the rite.

The piṇḍa must be offered first to the father, then to the grandfather, and then to the great-grandfather.
While each piṇḍa is offered, the mind should stay undistracted. The Sāvitrī mantra is recited, together with the words “somāya pitṛmate“.
A woman who is rajasvalā (in her monthly period), or one whose ears are pierced or torn, must not stay where the nivāpana is being done. A woman born into another line must not be taken on to cook at a śrāddha.
When crossing water, the pitṛs should be remembered by name and gotra. On reaching the river, piṇḍas and tarpaṇa are offered to them.
Tarpaṇa should be given first to one’s own dead relatives, and only after that to friends and other connections.
One who crosses water in a cart yoked with a pair of oxen of different marks, or by boat, should know that his pitṛs wish to board that very boat and take the tarpaṇa waters. So the offering should be made over the tails of the oxen.
Tarpaṇa should be done on the amāvāsyā of the krishṇa-pakshā, with a calm mind, by those who know this rite well.

Last, Bhīshma named the great pitṛ-devatās fit to receive the highest honours of yoga: Brahmā as grandsire, Pulastya, Vasishṭha, Pulaha, Aṅgiras, Kratu and Kaśyapa. He said that these too are counted among the pitṛ-devatās. By this śrāddha act, those who are bound as pretas through their link of the piṇḍa are freed from their state as pretas.

Bhīshma ended by saying that he had now told the origin of śrāddha, and that he would next speak of dāna.

Sources

Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 91 (Yudhishṭhira’s question, the line of Atri, Nimi’s rite and fear, Atri’s teaching)
Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 92 (Agni and the first portion, the order of the piṇḍa and tarpaṇa)