Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 31, Shloka 29
Adhyaya 31 — Naimittika and Related Śrāddha Rites: Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, Eligibility, Timing, and Procedure
वेदोज्झोऽथाग्निसन्त्यागी वृषलीपतिदूषितः ।
तथान्ये च विकर्मस्था वर्ज्याः पितृ्येषु वै द्विजाः ॥
vedojjho 'thāgnisantyāgī vṛṣalīpatidūṣitaḥ | tathānye ca vikarmasthā varjyāḥ pitryeṣu vai dvijāḥ ||
One who has cast off the Veda, one who has abandoned the sacred fires, one tainted by association with the husband of a Śūdra woman, and others engaged in forbidden acts—such twice-born men are to be avoided in rites for the ancestors.
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FAQs
The text links śrāddha efficacy to sustained discipline (Veda and agnihotra). The ethical claim is that public religious responsibility and personal restraint safeguard the sanctity of intergenerational obligations.
Ancillary dharma/ācāra material: it regulates conduct rather than narrating creation, dissolutions, genealogies, or manvantaras.
‘Abandoning Veda/fire’ symbolizes a break in sacred continuity; since śrāddha is a continuity-rite (linking descendants and ancestors), the recipient’s continuity of practice is treated as mirroring the rite’s subtle purpose.