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monthly or yearly $raddhas in which food was offered to the Brahmins in honour of the dead ancestors. Such a feast was known as mayabhatta or kareḍuya-bhatta. Hingola was also another death-feast in which meat was freely offered. A story in the NC. depicts a Jaina monk being unable to get the alms even to break his monthly fast, as all the members of the family were busy in serving food to the Brahmins (dhijjatiya) in such a death-feast (kareḍuyabhatta). The feast was held after a month of the death of the deceased which may indicate the practice of observing the monthly Śrāddhas.
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SOCIAL LIFE
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The practice of offering pindas or rice-balls to the dead ancestors+ was also obligatory for the family-members. We are informed that proper time for offering pinta (rice-balls) to the pitys (dead ancestors) was during the Magha Śraddha. The Magha Śrāddha mentioned in the NC. is evidently the same as the Maghyavarṣa Śraddha' which has been highly eulogised by most of the ancient authorities. The Ava yakagṛhasutra (II. 59) explains Māghyāvarṣa as a rite performed on the 13th day of the dark half of Bhadrapada when generally the moon is in Magha Nakṣatra." The Visnudharmasūtra (76. 1. 78) states that the 13th of the dark half of Bhadrapada, when the moon is in the Magha asterism, is highly appreciable for offering the
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1. H-NC. 3, p. 418. Even now such a feast is known as karaja-bhatta in Gujarat, and is given on the 13th day after the death of a person.
2. जं मतभत्तं करडुगादियं तं हिंगोल - NC. 3, p. 223.
3. NC. 3, p. 418.
4. पिति - पिंडपदाणं वा पिंडणिगरो - NC. 2, p. 444.
5. पितृपिंडप्रदानकालो मघा श्राद्धेषु भवति - Ibid. Here the editor of the
NC. failing to understand the significance of the word magha gives another reading in bracket as yatha.which is not correct. In the press copy of the NC. prepared by Muni Punyavijaya the reading is to be found as 'Maghasräddha' (8, p. 59).
6. For detailed information regarding the 'Maghyāvarṣa' Śrāddha see -Kane, op. cit., Vol. IV, pp. 360-61.
7. हरदत्तस्तु भाद्रपदकृष्णपक्षे मघायुक्तः त्रयोदश्यां माध्यावर्षाख्यं श्राद्धं Ibid., p. 360.
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