Listen now to another high mystery concealed from
the view of many. The deities do not accept the libations (poured upon
the fire) on the occasion of Sraddhas and rites in their honour or on the
occasion of those rites that are performable on ordinary lunar days or on
the especially sacred days of the full moon and the new moon, if they
behold a woman in her season of impurity or one that is the daughter of a
mother afflicted with leprosy. The Pitris of the man who allows such a
woman to come near the place where the Sraddha is being performed by him,
do not become gratified with him for thirteen years. Robed in raiment of
white, and becoming pure in body and mind, one should invite Brahmanas
and cause them to utter their benedictions (when one performs the
Sraddha). On such occasions one should also recite the Bharata. It is by
observing all these that the offerings made at Sraddhas become
inexhaustible.'
"Dhaumya said, 'Broken utensils, broken bedsteads, cocks and, dogs, as
also such trees as have grown within the dwelling houses, are all
inauspicious objects. In a broken utensil is Kali himself, while in a
broken bedstead is loss of wealth. When a cock or a dog is in sight, the
deities do not eat the offerings made to them. Under the roots of a tree
scorpions and snakes undoubtedly find shelter.
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