Finally, one of the most interesting subjects with which the Grihya Sutras deal is that of funeral rites (antyeshti) and the worship of the Manes. All but children under two years of age are to be cremated. The dead man's hair and beard are cut off and his nails trimmed, the body being anointed with nard and a wreath being placed on the head. Before being burnt the corpse is laid on a black antelope skin. In the case of a Kshatriya, his bow (in that of a Brahman his staff, of a Vaiçya his goad) is taken from his hand, broken, and cast on the pyre, while a cow or a goat is burnt with the corpse. Afterwards a purifying ablution is performed by all relations to the seventh or tenth degree. They then sit down on a grassy spot and listen to old stories or a sermon on the transitoriness of life till the stars appear. At last, without looking round, they return in procession to their homes, where various observances are gone through. A death is followed by a period of impurity, generally lasting three days, during which the relatives are required, among other things, to sleep on the ground and refrain from eating flesh. On the night after the death a cake is offered to the deceased, and a libation of water is poured out; a vessel with milk and water is also placed in the open air, and the dead man is called upon to bathe in it. Generally after the tenth day the bones are collected and placed in an urn, which is buried to the accompaniment of the Rigvedic verse, "Approach thy mother earth" (x. 18, 10). The soul is supposed to remain separated from the Manes for a time as a preta or "ghost." A çraddha, or "offering given with faith" (çraddha), of which it is the special object (ekoddishta), is presented to it in this state, the idea being that it would otherwise return and disquiet the relatives. Before the expiry of a year he is admitted to the circle of the Manes by a rite which makes him their sapinda ("united by the funeral cake"). After the lapse of a year or more another elaborate ceremony (called pitri-medha) takes place in connection with the erection of a monument, when the bones are taken out of the urn and buried in a suitable place. There are further various general offerings to the Manes, or çraddhas, which take place at fixed periods, such as that on the day of new moon (parvana çraddha), while others are only occasional and optional. These rites still play an important part in India, well-to-do families in Bengal spending not less than 5000 to 6000 rupees on their first çraddha. From all these offerings of the Grihya ritual are to be distinguished the two regular sacrifices of the Çrauta ritual, the one called Pinda-pitri-yajna immediately preceding the new-moon sacrifice, the other being connected with the third of the four-monthly sacrifices.