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Pitru Paksha

- Pitru Paksha is a 15-16 day Hindu period when ancestors are honored, usually through food offerings, prayers, and rituals. - It falls in the lunar month of Bhadrapada (September) and is considered inauspicious due to death rites performed. - The souls of ancestors are believed to reside in Pitriloka until prayers and offerings are made to bring moksha (liberation) and lessen their suffering.

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50 views2 pages

Pitru Paksha

- Pitru Paksha is a 15-16 day Hindu period when ancestors are honored, usually through food offerings, prayers, and rituals. - It falls in the lunar month of Bhadrapada (September) and is considered inauspicious due to death rites performed. - The souls of ancestors are believed to reside in Pitriloka until prayers and offerings are made to bring moksha (liberation) and lessen their suffering.

Uploaded by

jamesdigol
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Pitru Paksha 

(Sanskrit: पितृ पक्ष, Pitṛ pakṣa; lit. "fortnight of the paternal


ancestors") is a 16–lunar day period in Hindu calendar when Hindus pay
homage to their ancestors (Pitrs), 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).[2][3][4]
Pitru Paksha is considered by Hindus to be inauspicious, given the death
rite performed during the ceremony, known as Shraddha or Tarpana. 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. 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. 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.
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, 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.[5] In Pitru Paksha, prayers are
offered to bring upon moksha, both for the ancestors and for those
performing the rituals.[6] 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.[7]
According to the sacred Hindu epics, 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.[3][8]
When the legendary donor Karna died in the epic Mahabharata 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.[9] In some legends, Yama replaces Indra.[10]

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