All World
Gayatri Pariwar

The Pitrapaksha is the unique opportunity which we get to pay off the debt of our ancestors due to the benediction and grace of whom, we were able to take birth in this world and could prosper and flourish by their grace. It is written in the scriptures that during this period our ancestors come on the earth and look at us with the hope that we will offer our devotion towards them by performing Shraddha, Tarpan and Pind Daan, give donation, food, etc on their behalf according to our capacity and do noble deeds. 

The objective of this festival is to nurture the emotional bond between the future generations and their family pedigree. Also, we could draw inspiration from the ideals and moral strength of the ancestors and achieve success in the struggle of life. Shraddh is performed by offering libation to their ancestors like their father, grandfather, great grandfather, mother, paternal grandfather, etc and satisfy them by performing pind-daan. 

The Shraddh of a deceased person is performed on that tithi (date of lunar calendar) which corresponds to the date of death of the person. If someone has died on Purnima his Shraddha would be performed on Bhadrapad Purnima. Further there are certain specific dates in the Pitrapaksha, on which certain specific classes of deceased people are given priority for Shraddh tarpan. For instance, the Shraddh of the deceased women of the family is performed on the Navami of the pitrapaksha, which is also referred to as the Matrunavami. The Shraddh of an ascetic is done on the twelfth. The fourteenth day is exclusively for those who have died a sudden premature death or through poison or committed suicide. Further, if the date of death of any person is not known or someone’s Shraddh could not have been performed on the definite date due to some reason, then the Shraddh of such people could be performed on the Amavasya of the lunar month Ashwin. This date is known as the Sarvapitra Amavasya; and on this date, the tarpana of all the known or unknown ancestors could be performed. 

According to the Indian traditions, our ancestors should be remembered on the Amavasya of every month and Shraddh should be performed for them. If possible, it should be performed daily and the easiest way of doing it is to offer food to cow, dog, birds and human beings in their remembrance. This brings to us the blessings and benedictions of our ancestors. According to the religious text, ‘Shraddh Deep’ - ‘Shraddh naam petrinudrishyam dravya tyagah’. This means that Shraddh is that food, water or other substances which are offered to our ancestors. According to Manu, shraddh is done of five different types - Nitya, Naimaittik, Kamya, Vriddhi and Paarwana. The shraddh performed during the Pitrapaksha is known as the Paarwana Shraddh. In the shraddh, tarpana is done for the satisfaction of the soul of the ancestors. In the process of tarpan, basically water is offered to them. Substances like barley, sesame, rice, milk and flowers are added to it for making them fragrant and more effective. The deceased souls get satisfied by the water we offer to them, while chanting the sacred mantras with the kush grass held in our palms. Six types of Tarpans are performed while doing the process of Tarpana - Dev tarpana, Rishi tarpana, Divya- manav tarpana, Divya pitra tarpana, Yama tarpana and Manushya pitra tarpana. 

It is said that- ‘Shraddha deeyate yat tat shraddham.’ It means that whatever is offered to the deceased souls with devotion is referred to as Shraddh. The deceased souls do not get contented with any substance or foodstuff because only the physical body requires the physical things. After the death the physical body of the soul comes to an end and it is left with only the subtle body. The subtle body has no physical requirements like that of hunger, thirst or protection from cold or heat. This body is predominated by thoughts, consciousness and sentiments, so they could only be made happy with a heart filled with higher sentiments. This is the reason why devotion and affection are so important while doing Shraddh and Tarpan. Though, physical objects are offered to them but the deceased souls accept them in the subtle form only. 

Mere rituals of Tarpan and Pind Daan are not sufficient for Shraddh. These processes and rituals are only symbolic, while the real basis of Shraddh is Shraddha (devotion). The earnings of the ancestors should be utilized for their own upliftment and returned to the society in the form of donation for noble causes. We should add our contribution also to the wealth left by our ancestors and donate this amount for the sake of their soul - this is the real implication of Shraddh. The primary objective of Shraddh is to constantly remember our ancestors and keep on donating on their behalf from time to time as a token of gratitude towards them. This practice should not be stopped. 

Shraddh could also be performed at any sacred shrine / teerth like Gaya, Badrinath, Siddhapur, etc. Some people believe that when Shraddh is performed at these holy places, then there is no need of performing it in future. In this context, one should remember that the debt of our ancestors is also such a debt, which could not be paid off, just like the debts of divinity and sages. Therefore, our ancestors could be satisfied only by true remembrance and performing Shraddh- Tarpan and donating on their behalf. In this way we could offer our true devotion to them and get their benedictions.