Pitru Paksha from Sept 24th to Oct 8th
In Hinduism, parents are given a lot of importance and so do their blessings. As they are the ones who bring us into this world, respecting them and serving them is considered to be a good deed. And this is where Shradh gets its importance from. The 16 day period starting from the Purnima of Bhadrapada and ending on the Amavasya of the Krishna Paksha of Ashvin is known as the Pitru Paksha meaning the fortnight of fathers. In this duration, people perform activities to let the souls of their parents and ancestors rest in peace. Charity, Havan and various other rituals are performed during this period.
Benefits of honoring our ancestors on this day
- To gain the blessings of Lord Yama
- To protect the family from obstacles
- To relieve the souls of the ancestors
- Children in the family gain blessings
- An opportunity to express gratitude for the lineage you were born into
- Astrologically if you have Pitrudosha or Putradosha in your chart then these rituals can help get rid of the dosha.
Significance Of Shradh
Let's discuss the significance of performing rituals of Tarpan during Pitru Paksha for our ancestors, before performing them.
Blessings Of Ancestors
In Hindu mythology, it is believed that our ancestors are still watching us, they are protecting us from the hurdles of life and blessing us. But at the same time, they want us to remember them, pay respect and honor to them because they had already given us a lot and still giving a lot.
Rituals of Tarpan in Shraddha is a way to pay our gratitude toward the ancestors for all that they have given or giving to us. It is believed that if the rituals are performed with full faith, love, and respect, our ancestors get happy and protect us from all the evil powers of the universe. They don't let anything harm us either it is natural or supernatural.
No matter what we dedicate, an expensive or less expensive gift, but what is important is our love and respect. Our honor will make them happy instead of the price of our gift.
For The Peace Of Souls
We inherit the assets and properties of our ancestors, but at the same time we also inherit the results of their misdeeds. Sometimes, their misdeeds do not allow them to attain the peace after death. This disturbance of their souls can sometimes affect the present generations of the family. The rituals of Tarpan in Shradh helps them in attaining the peace of soul and paying of the misdeeds of their lives. Help your ancestors in gaining peace of soul by performing the Tarpan rituals in Shraadh.
Remove The Effects Of Unnatural Death
Unnatural deaths are a big reason for the disturbances of souls. Unnatural deaths are those which occur before the actual or natural time of death for that person. They can occur from any kind of accident or sometimes suicide may also be the reason for unnatural death. It can happen to anyone, be it an older or younger member of the family. Rituals of Tarpan in Shraddha are of a great significance in removing the effects of these unnatural deaths, and attaining the divine peace of soul. Perform the rituals of Tarpan on Shradh to remove the effects of unnatural deaths.
What Is Pitru Loka?
Pitru Loka is the region between earth and heaven. The souls of up to three preceding generations of one's ancestors stay in Pitru Loka. When any member of the next generation dies, the soul of ancestor from the first generation shifts to heaven. Then, the Shraddha or Pitru Paksha rituals for the very first ancestor are stopped. Yama (the lord of death) plays a very important role in Pitru Loka. He takes the souls of departed family members to Pitru Loka.
How To Perform Shraadh Rituals?
You can also perform the Tarpan rituals performed during the 16 special days of Shraddh or Pitru Paksha. Pitru Paksha has a special significance for Tarpan rituals and the rituals performed during Pitru Paksha produces best results. Take a look at how to perform Shradh rituals in the right way:
- For performing Shradh rituals, prepare pure vegetarian food, you can also prepare the favorite food of the departed person. This food is offered to the Brahmins or Pandits, and known as Brahman Bhoj.
- Cook Kheer (sweet rice porridge) and other food items, as per your family traditions.
- Offer prayers for the peace of souls of ancestors.
- The food should also be offered to cows, crows, and dogs on banana leaves.
- Different fruits, sweets, and cereals can also be served.
- Serve the needy like beggars and old people for the peace of the ancestor's souls.
When To Perform Shraadh?
Shraddha should be performed on the death anniversary of the departed family member, but if it is not possible or if one forgets the date, these rituals can be performed on the last day of Pitru Paksha or on the Sarvapitri Amavasya.
Noon time is considered best for performing Shraddh rituals during Pitru Paksha i.e. during the time of 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For Tarpan ceremony, morning time is considered best that is during the time of 8 a.m to 12 p.m during Pitru Paksha.
Find out the Tithi (according to Hindu calendar) for performing Shradh by using Shraddha Tithi Finder Tool. Best results are produced by performing Shradh on the same Tithi, according to the death of our ancestor.
What Not To Do While Performing Shraadh?
Let's check out the things that we should avoid while performing the Tarpan rituals during Shradh.
- Do not use non-vegetarian items for preparing food.
- Do not consume alcohol while performing the rituals.
- Avoid haircuts or shaving while performing the rituals.
- Never use iron vessels for preparing or serving food.
- Do not perform rituals in the evening, dusk and dawn.
What Is Pitru Dosha?
Pitru Dosha arises when one does not perform the rituals of Tarpan for the peace of souls of his/her ancestors. The Pitru Dosha arises only when the souls of ancestors are not in peace.
Pitru Dosha can be identified by reading the birth chart of an individual. It can be cured by performing the Shraddha rituals.
Performing Shraddha and Tarpan rituals is very important for the attainment of peace by our ancestors' souls and for receiving their blessings.
How to do Tarpan in Hindi
How to do Tarpan in English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9M7oVXSOhA&t=38s
Other videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLYk4gh04w8&t=190s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQKnVXy37cM
Remedy:
Remedy for Today - last day of Shradh for your ancestors
a) Take Milk, Sugar, Basmati Rice (or normal) any quantity
b) Along with it take Almonds, Cashew nuts, Cardomom (Elachi), Cloves (Lavang ), Raisins (brown kismis)
c) Go to Temple and donate, while donating if possible take the names of all ancestors who are dead and pray for their peace and well being.
d) This can be done at any religious places even if it is no a temple, if the religious place does not accept it then you can touch the articles to the temple or pray from outside and donate it to an ashram.
P.S. donate all items as much of quantity one wants
Ancestor Fortnight Begins Today
From the abundantly favorable to the significantly inauspicious: such is the ambit of the lunar month of Bhadrapada. Now that Ganapatideva has been respectfully returned to his home, with the request to return soon next year, the time has come for us to revere our ancestors, during the Pitr Paksha (the “Forefather Fortnight”). The Sanatana Dharma, which has always estimated human obligations to be greater than any rights or privileges, emphasizes the signal importance of repaying our genetic (and epigenetic) debt to our forebears via Tarpaṇa and Śrāddha, rituals which can be performed at any time (preferably when the moon is waning) but ideally during the Pitru Paksha. Given that we owe our very existence to our parents, their parents and their parents before them, it is only appropriate that we annually invest some time and effort appreciating them for what they have given (and done to) us.
Śrāddha is relatively more complicated, and Tarpaṇa relatively less so, but both aim to offer contentment (trpti, a word closely related to the word tarpaṇa) to the deceased. Many are rules for such offerings, and many the locations in India (including particularly Varanasi, Badrinath and Gaya) where these offerings are said to produce superlative effects; but Vimalananda (who offered choice insults to those priests who charge exorbitant sums for performing such ceremonies) maintained that in this context (as in most contexts), simpler is better (though he did concur with the pundits that these rites should always be done between dawn and noon, and preferably on the banks of a body of water). While it is optimal to hire a specialist to perform Śrāddha for your deceased loved ones, most anyone (according to V) can perform Tarpaṇa (procedures for which can be found here.) http://www.vedicastrologer.org/tarpana/pdf/tarpana_english_ss.pdf
http://www.vedicastrologer.org/tarpana/pdf/tarpana_english_s.pdf
In Sanskrit Śrāddha literally means an action performed with full faith (Śraddhā). For Śrāddha to be effective you need to have faith that it can in some way be effective. You might believe that the shades of your dead parents actually come to the event and consume the offerings, or that you are in fact making an offering to their genes and chromosomes that continue to live within you, or simply that by rendering heartfelt gratitude towards your ancestors and praying for their well-being and peace you are nourishing your own gratitude, well-being and peace. The key is that any offering should be “heartfelt”; the words Śrāddha and Śraddhā sprout from a root that in English gave us “heart”.
Our hearts and their feeling explain why the Pitr Paksha is regarded as one of the least propitious periods of the year. Just because a human dies does not mean that that human has lost all interest in living; in fact, in the vast majority of deaths, the dying continue to grasp at life even as life departs from them. Dead personalities usually crave a return to the pleasures that they enjoyed while alive, and the affinity that exists between their now-defunct bodies and the bodies of their descendants often permits them to express some of these desires (to some extent) through the bodies of those very scions, via a process that possibly shares some similarities with the process through which a transplanted organ (particularly a heart) can “transplant” important characteristics of the donor into the recipient.
If your departed relative was a great saint, you might perhaps find benefit in having him or her continue to live through you; otherwise, it is more likely that strong ancestral influence on you will transfer to you extra negative traits, or at the reinforce some of your pre-existing negative traits. Most authorities agree that the pitrs are not “liberated” but rather “appeased” through Tarpaṇa and Śrāddha. This brings up the interesting question (recently posed to me) of whether it would not be more beneficial for we the living to perform some sadhana on behalf of those in our maternal & paternal lineages, to assist them to evolve further even while (presumably) also removing their negative effects on us? The answer is IMO a cautious and qualified “yes”, qualified by how much stability in your own self you have already achieved thanks to your own sadhana. If you have already become a saint you may be able to release many of your progenitors from their desire-bondages; if not, the act of you focusing on them further may make your awareness further deteriorate, often without you being in the least aware of that deterioration.
And, frankly, any ancestor that is still in need of contentment should first become contented before we try to enlighten them; as Tukaram Maharaj is reported to have said, pahile pothoba ani nantar Vithoba, “first worship the belly god (i.e. address all your human needs and desires) before you try to worship the Supreme God.” Wise advice.
May all our ancestors become content!
 2018 |
 |
| 24 | September | (Monday) | Purnima Shraddha |
| 25 | September | (Tuesday) | Pratipada Shraddha |
| 26 | September | (Wednesday) | Dwitiya Shraddha |
| 27 | September | (Thursday) | Tritiya Shraddha |
| 28 | September | (Friday) | Maha Bharani, Chaturthi Shraddha |
| 29 | September | (Saturday) | Panchami Shraddha |
| 30 | September | (Sunday) | Shashthi Shraddha |
| 01 | October | (Monday) | Saptami Shraddha |
| 02 | October | (Tuesday) | Ashtami Shraddha |
| 03 | October | (Wednesday) | Navami Shraddha, Dashami Shraddha |
| 04 | October | (Thursday) | Ekadashi Shraddha |
| 05 | October | (Friday) | Magha Shraddha, Dwadashi Shraddha |
| 06 | October | (Saturday) | Trayodashi Shraddha |
| 07 | October | (Sunday) | Chaturdashi Shraddha |
| 08 | October | (Monday) | Sarva Pitru Am |
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