Pitryajna

(“sacrifice to the ancestors”) One of the
Five Great Sacrifices (panchamahayajna)
prescribed in the dharma literature, the
texts on religious duty. These Five Great
Sacrifices are daily observances for a
“twice-born” householder, that is, one
who has been born into one of the three
“twice-born” groups in Indian society—
brahmin, kshatriya, or vaishya—and
who has received the adolescent religious initiation known as the “second
birth.” Each of the five sacrifices (yajna)
is directed toward a different class of
beings—from the Absolute Reality down
to animals—and is satisfied by different
actions. The pitryajna is directed toward
one’s ancestors, and is satisfied by offering them libations of water (tarpana). In
the time since the dharma literature was
composed Hindu life has undergone
significant changes, and some of these
five rites have been completely elided.
Although in certain contexts pitryajna is
still an important rite—particularly at
pilgrimage sites and in formal rites for
the dead—it is no longer performed on a
daily basis.