Pitar :
Pitar or Pitri refers to the ancestors or forefathers to whom pindas are offered in worship . Pitri also signifies the ten Prajapatis or the mythical progenitors of the human race . The first pitris are said to be the sons of the gods . There are seven classes of the Pitris according to the Puranas . Three of them ( Vairajas, Agnishwattas, Barishads) are incorporeal, without form, composed of intellectual not elementary substance, and assuming whatever forms they please . The corporeal Pitris are Sukalas, Angirasas, Suswadhas, and Somapas . The Rig Vedas make two independent classes of Pitris. The Agnidagdhas (who when alive, kept up the household flame and presented oblations with fire) and the Anagnidagdhas (who when alive, did not keep up the household flame and did not present oblations with fire). Although the Pitris mounted to the heavenly abode of bliss, their happiness was not altogether independent of the acts of devotion shown them by the living . It could be greatly increased by offerings of Soma , rice, and water; for like the
gods they were thought to have bodies of air-like texture, and to enjoy the subtile essence of food . Hence, the surviving children felt it a sacred duty to make feast- offerings, called Sraddhas , at stated times to their departed Pitris . In return for these acts of filial piety, the grateful Pitris protected them from harm and promoted their welfare . Yama the god of the dead is king of the Pitris and Swadha meaning oblation is said to be their mother .