A brahmana, a sister’s son, a father-in-law, a hermit and a disciple, are all permitted to perform funeral ceremonies. But such ceremonies should not be performed by dealers of wine and other socially condemned people. They do not have the right.

Invitations to the ceremony should be issued well in advance of the ceremony being held. But those who turn up uninvited should also he shown respect and fed.

The direct fallout of a funeral ceremony is that the observer gets to remember his earlier births. This is illustrated in the case of Gouramukha. This person had forgotten that he had been the sage Bhrigu in his earlier life. He was advised by the sage Markandeya to perform a shradddha ceremony over a period of twelve years. Throughout this period, Gouramukha chanted a hymn dedicated to the ten avataras (incarnations) of Vishnu. After doing this, Gouramukha remembered his earlier life and merged into the brahman