Text 4
deśa-kālocita-śraddhā-
dravya-pātrārhaṇāni ca
samyag bhavanti naitāni
vistarāt sva-janārpaṇāt
deśa — place; kāla — time; ucita — proper; śraddhā — respect; dravya — ingredients; pātra — a suitable person; arhaṇāni — paraphernalia for worship; ca — and; samyak — proper; bhavanti — are; na — not; etāni — all these; vistarāt — due to expansion; sva-jana-arpaṇāt — or due to inviting relatives.
If one arranges to feed many brāhmaṇas or relatives during the śrāddha ceremony, there will be discrepancies in the time, place, respectability and ingredients, the person to be worshiped, and the method of offering worship.
Nārada Muni has prohibited unnecessarily gorgeous arrangements to feed relatives or brāhmaṇas during the śrāddha ceremony. Those who are materially opulent spend lavishly during this ceremony. Indians spend especially lavishly on three occasions — at the birth of a child, at marriage and while observing the śrāddha ceremony — but the śāstras prohibit the excessive expenditures involved in inviting many brāhmaṇas and relatives, especially during the śrāddha ceremony.