Pitru Paksha ( sa, पितृ पक्ष, ; lit. "fortnight of the paternal ancestors") is a 16–lunar day
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
in
Hindu calendar
The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a ...
when
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Pitrs
The pitrs () are the spirits of departed ancestors in Hinduism. Following an individual's death, the performance of the antyesti (funeral rites) is regarded to allow the deceased to enter Pitrloka, the abode of one's ancestors. The non-performanc ...
), especially through food offerings. The period is also known as Pitri Paksha/Pitr-Paksha, Pitri Pokkho, Sorah Shraddha ("sixteen shraddhas"), Kanagat, Jitiya, Mahalaya (in Bengali), Apara Paksha and akhadpak, Pitru Pandharavda or pitru paksh (in Marathi).
Pitru Paksha is considered by Hindus to be inauspicious, given the death rite performed during the ceremony, known as Shraddha or
Tarpana
( sa, तर्पण, bn, তর্পণ, kn, ತರ್ಪಣ, ta, தர்ப்பணம்) is a term in the Vedic practice that refers to an offering made to divine entities. It refers to the act of offering as well as the substance us ...
. In southern and western India, it falls in the 2nd paksha (fortnight) Hindu lunar month of Bhadrapada (September) and follows the fortnight immediately after
Ganesh Utsav
Ganesh Chaturthi ( ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and ...
. It begins on the Pratipada (first day of the fortnight) ending with the no moon day known as Sarvapitri Amavasya, Pitri Amavasya, Peddala Amavasya, Mahalaya Amavasya. The end of Pitru Paksha and the beginning of Matri Paksha is named as
Mahalaya
Mahalaya is the last day of offering tribute to our departed forefathers, i. e pitripaksha and the beginning of the devipaksha. At the time of the cataclysm, when the earth became a great cause-sea, Lord Vishnu laid Anantanag on that sea and fell ...
. Most years, the autumnal equinox falls within this period, i.e. the Sun transitions from the northern to the southern hemisphere during this period. In North India and Nepal, and cultures following the purnimanta calendar or the solar calendar, this period may correspond to the waning fortnight of the luni-solar month Ashvina, instead of Bhadrapada.
Astronomical basis
As per Hindu traditions, the south celestial sphere is consecrated to the ancestors (pitru). Hence, the moment when the Sun transits from the north to the south celestial sphere is considered to begin a ''day of the ancestors''. This moment is considered sacred, necessitating the performance of special religious rites. Most years, this transit occurs during Bhadrapada masa Krishna paksha (as per the amanta tradition) / Ashvina masa Krishna paksha (as per the purnimanta tradition). Hence this paksha has been designated as Pitru paksha and Hindus perform special religious rites during this entire period.
Legend
In Hinduism, the souls of three preceding generations of one's ancestors reside in ''Pitriloka'', a realm between heaven and earth. This realm is governed by
Yama
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...
, the god of death, who takes the soul of a dying man from earth to ''Pitriloka''. Only those three generations are given Shraddha rites, in which Yama plays a significant role. In Pitru Paksha, prayers are offered to bring upon
moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologic ...
, both for the ancestors and for those performing the rituals. According to Swami Sivananda, Pitru Paksha mitigates the suffering of souls remaining in heaven before undergoing samsara or rebirth, an in the case those souls took another birth immediately after their deaths, Shradda adds to their happiness in their new birth.
According to the sacred
Hindu epic Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, eve ...
s, at the beginning of Pitru Paksha, the sun enters the zodiac sign of Virgo (Kanya). Coinciding with this moment, it is believed that the spirits leave ''Pitriloka'' and reside in their descendants' homes for a month until the sun enters the next zodiac—Scorpio (''Vrischika'')—and there is a full moon. Hindus are expected to propitiate the ancestors in the first half, during the dark fortnight.
When the legendary donor
Karna
Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...
died in the epic
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
war, his soul transcended to heaven, he became plagued with extreme hunger, but any food he touched became gold instantly. Karna and Surya went to Indra and asked him about the cause of this incident. Indra told Karna that he had donated gold his entire life, but had never donated food to his ancestors in shraddha. Hence, the ancestors of kuru who were stuck in limbo cursed him, Karna said that since he was unaware of his ancestry, he never donated anything in their memory. To make amends, Karna was permitted to return to the earth for 15–day period, so that he could perform shraddha to them and donate food and water in their memory. This period is now known as Pitru Paksha. In some legends, Yama replaces Indra.
Significance
The performance of ''Shraddha'' by a son during Pitru Paksha is considered compulsory by Hindus, to ensure that the soul of the ancestor goes to heaven. In this context, the scripture
Garuda Purana
The ''Garuda Purana'' is one of 18 ''Mahāpurāṇa'' texts in Hinduism. It is a part of Vaishnavism literature corpus, primarily centering around Hindu god Vishnu. Composed in Sanskrit and also available in various languages like Gujarati an ...
says, "there is no salvation for a man without a son". The scriptures preach that a householder should propitiate ancestors (''
Pitris
The pitrs () are the spirits of departed ancestors in Hinduism. Following an individual's death, the performance of the antyesti (funeral rites) is regarded to allow the deceased to enter Pitrloka, the abode of one's ancestors. The non-performance ...
''), along with the gods (
devas
Devas may refer to:
* Devas Club, a club in south London
* Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter
* Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist
* Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club
* Devas (band), ...
Markandeya Purana
The ''Markandeya Purana'' ( sa, मार्कण्डेय पुराण; IAST: ) is a Sanskrit text of Hinduism, and one of the eighteen major Puranas. The text's title Markandeya refers to a sage in Hindu History, who is the central c ...
says that if the ancestors are content with the shraddhas, they will bestow health, wealth, knowledge and longevity, and ultimately heaven and salvation (
moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologic ...
) upon the performer.
The performance of ''Sarvapitri amavasya'' rites can also compensate a forgotten or neglected annual Shraddha ceremony, which should ideally coincide with the death anniversary of the deceased. According to Sharma, the ceremony is central to the concept of lineages. Shraddha involves oblations to three preceding generations—by reciting their names—as well as to the lineage ancestor ( gotra). A person thus gets to know the names of six generations (three preceding generation, his own and two succeeding generations—his sons and grandsons) in his life, reaffirming lineage ties. Anthropologist Usha Menon of Drexel University presents a similar idea—that Pitru Paksha emphasises the fact that the ancestors and the current generation and their next unborn generation are connected by blood ties. The current generation repays their debt to the ancestors in the Pitru Paksha. This debt is considered of utmost importance along with a person's debt to his
guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...
s and his parents.
Bengali singnificance
In
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, ''Mahalaya'' (Bengali: মহালয়া) usually marks the beginning of
Durga Puja
Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...
festivities. Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the Bengalis, is celebrated annually during the
Hindu calendar
The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a ...
month
Ashvin
Ashvin or Ashwin or Ashwan (; bn, আশ্বিন; hi, आश्विन; or, ଆଶ୍ୱିନ; Malay/ Indonesian: ''Aswin''; Thai: ''Asawin''), also known as Aswayuja, is the seventh month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, the solar ...
(September and October). The celebration begins with Mahalaya. Mahalaya is the day when the goddess
Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around c ...
is believed to have descended to Earth. Bengali people traditionally wake up early in the morning on Mahalaya to recite hymns from the Devi Mahatmya (Chandi) scripture. Every Bengali household wakes up at dawn to listen to a collection of songs and mantras known as Mahisasuramardini that recounts goddess
Durga
Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars.
Durga's legend centres around c ...
’s birth and eventual triumph over the demon king
Mahishasura
Mahishasura is a bovine asura in Hinduism. He is depicted in literature to be a deceitful demon who pursued his evil ways by shape-shifting. Mahishasura was the son of Mahisi (Buffalo) and the great-grandson of Brahmarshi Kashyapa. He was ultima ...
. Offerings to the ancestors are made in homes and at puja ''mandap''s (temporary shrines).
Rules of Shraddha
When and where
The shraddha is performed on the specific
lunar day
A lunar day is the period of time for Earth's Moon to complete one rotation on its axis with respect to the Sun. Due to tidal locking, it is the time the Moon takes to complete one orbit around Earth ( Earth rise to Earth set) plus about 2.2 mo ...
during the Pitru Paksha, when the ancestor—usually a parent or paternal grandparent—died. There are exceptions to the lunar day rule; special days are allotted for people who died in a particular manner or had a certain status in life. ''Chautha Bharani'' and ''Bharani Panchami'', the fourth and fifth lunar day respectively, are allocated for people deceased in the past year. ''Avidhava navami'' ("Unwidowed ninth"), the ninth lunar day, is for married women who died before their husband.
Widowers invite
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...
women as guests for their wife's shraddha. The twelfth lunar day is for children and ascetics who had renounced the worldly pleasures. The fourteenth day is known as ''Ghata chaturdashi'' or ''Ghayala chaturdashi'', and is reserved for those people killed by arms, in war or suffered a violent death.
''Sarvapitri amavasya'' (all ancestors' new moon day) is intended for all ancestors, irrespective of the lunar day they died. It is the most important day of the Pitru Paksha. Those who have forgotten to perform shraddha can do so on this day. A shraddha ritual performed on this day is considered as fruitful as one conducted in the holy city of Gaya, which is seen as a special place to perform the rite, and hosts a fair during the Pitru Paksha period.
''Matamaha'' ("Mother's father") or ''Dauhitra'' ("Daughter's son") also marks the first day of the month of
Ashvin
Ashvin or Ashwin or Ashwan (; bn, আশ্বিন; hi, आश्विन; or, ଆଶ୍ୱିନ; Malay/ Indonesian: ''Aswin''; Thai: ''Asawin''), also known as Aswayuja, is the seventh month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, the solar ...
and beginning of the bright fortnight. It is assigned for the grandson of the deceased maternal grandfather.
The ritual is also held on the death anniversary of the ancestor. The shraddha is performed only at noon, usually on the bank of a river or lake or at one's own house. Families may also make a pilgrimage to places like
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
and Gaya to perform Shraddha. An annual Pitru Paksha Mela at Gaya on the banks of River Falgu. Pilgrims from all corners of the country visit Gaya for offering Pinda to their Ancestors. According to Bihar Tourism Department estimates, some 5,00,000 to 75,00,000 pilgrims arrive in the Gaya city during the Pitru Paksha Mela every year.
Who and for whom
It is essential that Shraddha be performed by the son—usually the eldest—or male relative of the paternal branch of the family, limited to the preceding three generations. However, on ''Sarvapitri amavasya'' or ''matamaha'', the daughter's son can offer Shraddha for the maternal side of his family if a male heir is absent in his mother's family. Some castes only perform the shraddha for one generation. Prior to performing the rite, the male should have experienced a sacred thread ceremony. Since the ceremony is considered inauspicious due to its association with death, the royal family of Kutch, the king or heirs of the throne are prohibited from conducting Shraddha.
Food
The food offerings made to the ancestors are usually cooked in silver or copper vessels and typically placed on a banana leaf or cups made of dried leaves. The food must include
Kheer
Kheer, also known as payasam, is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur w ...
(a type of sweet rice and milk), lapsi (a sweet porridge made of wheat grains), rice,
dal
In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pu ...
(lentils), the vegetable of spring bean (''
guar
The guar or cluster bean, with the botanical name ''Cyamopsis tetragonoloba'', is an annual legume and the source of guar gum. It is also known as gavar, gawar, or guvar bean.
The origin of ''Cyamopsis tetragonoloba'' is unknown, since it has ...
'') and a yellow gourd (pumpkin).
Rites of Shraddha
The male who performs the shraddha should take a purifying bath beforehand and is expected to wear a
dhoti
The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the ...
. He wears a ring of ''
darbha grass
The kusha () grass, the darbha () grass and the pavitram (), are the Sanskrit terms for ''Desmostachya bipinnata'' grass. This grass is of literary and ritual significance in Hinduism.
In the performance of Vedic rituals such as the homam and ta ...
''. Then the ancestors are invoked to reside in the ring. The shraddha is usually performed bare-chested, as the position of the sacred thread worn by him needs to be changed multiple times during the ceremony. The shraddha involves ''pinda dana'', which is an offering to the ancestors of ''pindas'' (cooked rice and barley flour balls mixed with ghee and black sesame seeds), accompanying the release of water from the hand. It is followed by the worship of
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
(in form of the ''darbha grass'', a gold image, or
Shaligram
A shaligrama shila ( deva, शालिग्राम शिला, Śāligrāma-śilā), also rendered as shaligram, is a particular variety of stone collected from riverbed or banks of the Kali Gandaki, a tributary of the Gandaki River in N ...
stone) and Yama. The food offering is then made, cooked especially for the ceremony on the roof. The offering is considered to be accepted if a crow arrives and devours the food; the bird is believed to be a messenger from Yama or the spirit of the ancestors. A cow and a dog are also fed, and
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...
priests are also offered food. Once the ancestors (crow) and Brahmins have eaten, the family members can begin lunch.
Other practices
Some families also conduct ritual recitals of scriptures such the
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...
and the Bhagavad Gita. Others may be charitable and present gifts to the priests or pay them to recite prayers for the ancestor's well-being.
See also
*
Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar
Genealogy registers, of families, maintained by Brahmin Pandits locally called as ‘Pandas’, who double up as professional genealogists, at Haridwar, has been a subject of study for many years now.Bhoot Chaturdashi