भोजयेत् सुसमृद्धोऽपि श्राद्धे कुर्यान्न विस्तरम् ॥३॥
dvau daive pitá¹›-kÄrye trÄ«n
ekaikam ubhayatra vÄ
bhojayet susamá¹›ddho 'pi
Å›rÄddhe kuryÄn na vistaram
dvau - two; daive - during the period when oblations are offered to the demigods; pitá¹›-kÄrye - in the Å›rÄddha ceremony, in which oblations are offered to the forefathers; trÄ«n - three; eka - one; ekam - one; ubhayatra - for both occasions; vÄ - either; bhojayet - one should feed; su-samá¹›ddhaḥ api - even though one is very rich; Å›rÄddhe - when offering oblations to the forefathers; kuryÄt - one should do; na - not; vistaram - very expensive arrangements.
During the period for offering oblations to the demigods, one should invite only two brÄhmaṇas, and while offering oblations to the forefathers, one may invite three brÄhmaṇas. Or, in either case, only one brÄhmaṇa will suffice. Even though one is very opulent, he should not endeavor to invite more brÄhmaṇas or make various expensive arrangements on those occasions.
As we have already mentioned, ÅšrÄ«la Advaita Ä€cÄrya, during the generally observed ceremony to offer oblations to the forefathers, invited only HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura. Thus He followed this principle: na me ’bhaktaÅ› catur-vedÄ« mad-bhaktaḥ Å›va-pacaḥ priyaḥ. The Lord says, “It is not necessary that one become very expert in Vedic knowledge before he can become My bhakta, or devotee. Even if one is born in a family of dog-eaters, he can become My devotee and be very dear to Me, in spite of having taken birth in such a family. Therefore, offerings should be given to My devotee, and whatever My devotee has offered Me should be accepted.†Following this principle, one should invite a first-class brÄhmaṇa or Vaiṣṇava — a realized soul — and feed him while observing the Å›rÄddha ceremony to offer oblations to one’s forefathers.
