Pitr Paksha
Every question on the site tagged Pitr Paksha, each answered from a timestamped source rather than a summary written from memory.
Computed for New Delhi. Sunrise decides which tithi a day belongs to, so these can differ elsewhere.
The fortnight dedicated to ancestor worship through Shraadh and Tarpan rites.
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A child born in Pitru Paksha or on Shani Pushya
A mother is told her daughter's birth — in Shraddh, on a Saturday in Shani Pushya — is not good. It cannot be said, the speaker answers, that a birth in Shraddh is a life of hardship; whose life has no hardship? And ask whoever said Shani Pushya is bad: who is the lord of Pushya Nakshatra, and who its devata — the two are different — and then explain how a Shani Pushya birth went wrong. People have heard of Guru Pushya and Ravi Pushya and call Shani Pushya bad without knowing what governs the nakshatra. Everyone is born to work off their prarabdha; do not blame graha and nakshatra, and do not be misled.
Pratipada of Navratri is the ideal day, Bhadrapada and Pitru Paksha are ruled out, and incense and a lamp morning and evening are the bare minimum
Ideally on Pratipada during Navratri, avoiding Bhadrapada and Pitru Paksha; even without a formal idol, offering incense and a lamp every morning and evening is the essential minimum.
Why must ancestral rites (Shradh) be performed even without financial capability?
Ancestral rituals must be performed during Shradh Paksha to honor deceased forefathers — lack of financial capability should never prevent performing Shradh.
Why do marriages and mangalik work not happen in a household?
He says that where mangalik work and marriage do not take place, leave aside tantra-mantra — first of all this is an obstruction related to the pitr of your kula. For their removal, first perform a parayan of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita to the best of your capacity for at least a year, and perform particular vidhi-vidhan in Pitr Paksha and the like. If pitr shanti does not occur, then there will be more than enough obstruction in marriage and mangalik work.
How should the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita be used during Pitru Paksha?
No separate ritual application is needed. Take a Sankalpa and simply recite the chapter, together with its Mahatmya — that recitation is itself the application.
Up to how many generations of ancestors should be worshipped?
Three generations, or as many as you know. The scriptural limit is seven, because the birth of the eighth generation liberates the seventh — Gaya seats seven, while Tripindi Shraddha covers three: father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Can a new image or photograph of a deity be brought into the house during Shraddha Paksha?
No — bring nothing and do nothing of that kind during Shraddha Paksha. Installation belongs to the first Navratri (Navratri) instead.
A relative who died last year and is not yet joined to the ancestors may be named for recitations, though Pind is a separate matter
For recitation his name may be written; Pind Daan is a separate matter. There is no difficulty in including him in the Bhagavad Gita, Parvati Gita or Sahasranama recitations.
Can Pitru Tarpan and Shraddha be performed while one's parents are still living?
Pitru Tarpana cannot be performed. For Nandi-mukh Shraddha (Shradh), ask the officiating acharya — if your father is present but not able to sit for it, you may perform it in his place, but that decision rests with the acharya.
Does Gita recitation in Pitru Paksha need a separate Sankalp for the ancestors' satisfaction?
The ancestors are named inside the Sankalpa itself rather than in a separate one — either directly, or by routing it through your Ishta Devata: by Narayana's grace, for the satisfaction, contentment and nourishment of my family's ancestors.
Can water be offered in Pitru Paksha to a grandfather who died this same year?
Yes — where the funeral rites were yours to perform, Kusha, Til and water may be offered in Pitr Paksha. Water, certainly, may be given.
What if I do not know the names of my ancestors?
There is no difficulty — write as many as you know. The speaker doubts anyone knows none at all: almost everybody knows up to their grandfather and great-grandfather.
A sava-lakh Panchakshari japa for the family ancestors in Pitru Paksha is entirely appropriate
Entirely appropriate — go ahead and do the Panchakshari Mantra japa for the ancestors, there is no difficulty in it at all.
What is actually mandatory to do in Pitru Paksha?
Panchbali above everything else. Whether or not you do anything else, feed five creatures: fresh roti to the Gau, food to the dog, food to the crow, sugar for the ants, and a meal to a destitute or hungry person. Alongside it, Arghya to Surya and to Tulsi on every day not excluded.
What recitations may be added on top of Panchbali during Pitru Paksha?
If you have the wish, means and inclination: the Gita's seventh or eleventh chapter, or the whole of it, or your own Ishta's Gita — Shiva Gita, Devi Gita — or the Pitru Bisa. But do Jeev Seva without fail, because it is service to living creatures that satisfies the ancestors' souls.
The daily portion for the ancestors is still set aside on the Shraddha day — it and the Brahmin meal are separate obligations
Yes, it is still set aside. The daily portion for the ancestors goes to Gau Mata; the Shradh-day meal is what is served to a Brahmin — they are two different things and one does not replace the other.
Can the Bagla Sabar mantra be recited during Pitru Paksha after the eclipse?
Choose mantras that bring Pushti — nourishment. The Baglamukhi Sabar Mantra is a Karma-Pradhan mantra used to complete an action, so it will not yield much nourishment; select mantras from which Pushti is obtained instead.
An infant who died days after birth decades ago, before being named, need not be included among the ancestors
Not necessary. A child who died a few days after birth, sixty-odd years ago, would not even have been given a name by then — so the speaker says there is no need to include them.
Spirits of the unnaturally dead can be pushed onto another house through Tantra — the Chaukhat is where they are met and broken
The speaker says Tantra makes it possible, and that souls of the unnaturally dead (Akala Mrityu) do trouble people because they obtain no onward motion. His answer is to strengthen the Chaukhat — the threshold is where such forces are met and defeated, and a house without one lets them straight in.
A new observance for the ancestors cannot begin mid-Paksha — the raw-milk Abhishek with a silver supari had to start on Anant
It should have been begun on Anant (Ananta Chaturdashi). If the item is an old one already in use you may continue; but you cannot bring a new one now and start from tomorrow.
With parents and parents-in-law living, the ancestors' form is filled with the grandparents' names onward
Yes — why would you not be able to. The names to be written are those of the grandfather, great-grandfather and so on, so living parents are no obstacle. The Navarna Mantra, asked alongside, may be recited only if you are initiated.
Is the custom of avoiding auspicious work during Pitru Paksha correct?
The speaker refuses to give a judgemental statement on whether the custom is right or wrong. What has been handed down to him is what he will do; the listener may act according to their own wish.
Do not hunt for errors in the names of God — "Murari" or "Murare" makes no fault; and Pitru Karya is compulsory even where Dev Karya is not
Do not look for mistakes in God's names or contemplate it so much. A slight transposition in a divine name is no fault and needs no worry — the speaker invokes the well-known account of Valmiki in support. Separately: whether or not Dev Karya is compulsory, Pitru Karya is compulsory for every person.
As much service and worship for the ancestors as possible should be done through the Paksha, and the benefit of the eclipse period taken
Perform as much service and worship on behalf of the ancestors (Pitr) as possible during the Paksha beginning the next day, take the benefit of the eclipse period, and — for those living in the Ganga region or other divine sites — take the benefit of those places.
Where may Daan for the Pitrs be given during Pitru Paksha?
Go anywhere in a tirtha kshetra — a Ganga kshetra in particular is the more accepted. You may go to Gaya, to the Vindhya kshetra, to Kashi, to the Pushkar kshetra. Go wherever you wish and do it.
Who the Pitru Beesa prayog is for, and when in the year it is done
The speaker says this prayog is for people who, as they go further into the tantra field, feel their inclination turning towards the Pitr and want to do some naimittik karma for the pitr of their kula so that the ancestors get tripti and their own work gets done; and for anyone whose pitr are very dissatisfied or whose janma kundli, on examination, shows doshas connected with Pitru Dosha. It should be done in Pitr Paksha, which he calls best of all, or else only on Amavasya. For making it siddh, he says, it is Pitru Paksha that works: the sixteen days from the Poornima tithi of Bhadrapada Maas up to the Sarva Pitru Amavasya tithi.
No deity worship or festivals at home until the first Varshiki Shradh
The speaker says that when a family member dies, the rule for the following year is that no worship of the deities is done in the house until the same tithi and month return the next year and the first Varshiki Shradh is performed. He says no Navratri puja, no Shivratri, and no festival such as Diwali or Chhath is celebrated in that period. He adds that the topic came up because in Pitr Paksha many people wrote asking whether they may do anything for a relative who died only two or three months earlier, or must wait a year.
Do the yantra tarpan once a paksha or on amavasya; for a grihastha the kula pitru is the first devata
Do the tarpan once in a paksha, or on the day of amavasya; even if there is no problem at all, doing tarpan will be very good. People do not do pitru tarpan daily, he says; pitru tarpan is not known, and in the Pitru Paksha the tarpan does not get done of itself. So do this at that time — it will bring great joy and your pitrus will be extremely pleased that their child is doing tarpan. You will be doing the tarpan of the deity, but the satisfaction from that tarpan reaches them too, because for you householders the first devata is the kula's own pitru; so the deity, the shakti of your kula, your aradhya, will satisfy them.
What should be done on Sarvapitri Amavasya?
Tomorrow is the last tithi of Pitru Paksha. Whether or not you do anything else, make puri and kheer and feed it to Gau Mata with your own hand. Do that much without fail — recite or not, worship or not, but certainly offer the Naivedya to Bhagavati Gau.
What should be done on Sarvapitri Amavasya if you are away and cannot cook?
Buy sweets made of milk — half a kilo, a quarter, whatever you are able — and place them on a leaf plate, so that if Gau Mata eats the plate too it does no harm. Not the foam or plastic kind. And say plainly: this is the capacity I have, this is my reverence; be pleased with this alone.
Should the four-month recitation be paused during Pitru Paksha or Navratri?
There is no need to stop when Pitru Paksha falls in between, and no need to stop when Navratri comes. You may do the Navratri pujan completely, and in Pitru Paksha you may separately perform whatever anushthan you wish for the pitr — but the niyam you take up tomorrow must be carried through in its entirety until the day of Tulsi Vivah.
Must nyasa be done every time a kavach is repeated?
Asked, since there is nyasa twice in the Datta Vajra Kavach, whether nyasa will have to be done every time if it is recited more than once, he answers no — nyasa is to be done only once. The main path is what is to be repeated again and again; the phalashruti too is not done every time. Asked whether, in Pitr Paksha, the bones kept of a grandfather and grandmother may be immersed, he says yes, they can be in Pitr Paksha.
Why is the Bhadrapada Amavasya called Kushotpatini?
Every Amavasya tithi has had its own special importance, he says, and the Bhadrapada Amavasya has been special above all for the karmakandi Brahmins who perform pujan-paath: it is the Kushotpatini Amavasya. On that day kusha is uprooted and kept for the whole year — the same kusha is then used in your Pitru Paksha, and through the year in making the pavitri and in whatever karmakand there is, especially for tarpan, whether it be deva karma or pitru karma.
Dattatreya mala mantra milk tarpan at the threshold through Pitr Paksha to reach bound pitr
The speaker says he gave the sadhak two sadhanas for this Navratri season. The first, in Pitr Paksha, was the dattatreya-mala-mantra sadhana with the full Tarpana vidhi, because Pitr who are in Bandhan cannot receive anything offered for them — whatever you do for the pitr is not reaching them. The two easiest means of getting it through are a tantra prayog of Bhagavan Ganesha and Bhagavan Dattatreya, who is supreme since the three shaktis Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh reside in him. He prescribed tarpan with milk on the Dattatreya Tantrokta yantra, the tarpan milk to be poured at a Peepal, a Bargad and a Tulsi — and, because a Muslim thing was involved, the tarpan was done at the Chaukhat (threshold) of the house with a lamp lit; he says he will clarify that vidhan further some time. The sadhak did the Datt tarpan by this vidhi for the full sixteen days of Pitr Paksha, from Poornima to Amavasya, and reported great peace from the first day.
Children are offering chocolate on the shivling — whose fault is it?
Children do not do it of themselves, he says. The children do not listen, and above that the grown-ups are doing the same; their guardians are giving them that sanskar. They mock the coming of the pitrs in Pitru Paksha and then go about dressed as ghosts at Halloween, adopting a foreign culture — so what will such children do? They will eat chocolate and offer chocolate. It is the responsibility of the mother and father not to encourage wrong things of this kind, and to explain to the children; explain well and show them by doing, and then why will the children not do it?
When else are the pitr present, and what happens at death?
Every year in the Pitr Paksha the presence of the pitr will be established, he says; believe it or not, it will be established. And the day you die you too will become one — you will remain a bhoot and go as a bhoot, or remain in the pitr category and go as a pitr. And at the time of death it is hello, how are you with the Shmashan Bhairav; from there too, he says, you cannot get away.
If someone in the house died by tantra, what can be done in Pitru Paksha?
If a full year has been completed, the speaker says, the first thing is to do it before Pitru Paksha, in the month of Bhadrapada and the like — and first confirm that it did happen by tantra. Its vidhi vidhan is that, taking the sankalp of exactly this matter, an anushthan of Bhairav ji should be done or had done. And if there is any sadhak of that kind, it will be done only by sadhaks; pandit ji people will not perform such an anushthan.
What should be done during the shraddh kriya itself?
After that, when you perform the shraddh kriya and the rest in Pitru Paksha, at that time you must certainly have eleven repetitions of the eleventh adhyaya of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita performed. If you have that much done, the speaker says, there is a 99% chance that those who died through abhichar karma — and even if they are in the bondage of abhichar — will be released by the grace of Bhagavan Narayan. Their gati will take place from there and they will not remain bound.
What of a daughter-in-law whose in-laws neither do shraddh nor allow it?
A listener says her father-in-law and mother-in-law neither perform shraddh nor let it be performed, that she had an anushthan done secretly in Pitru Paksha, and that at home she only does the japa of the Pitru Stotra and the Svadha Stotra. No matter, the speaker answers. When the in-laws hold such a thought, this is precisely what is meant by saying that prarabdha does not come ready-made — people build it themselves. For such a person, even if someone says he is doing shraddh at Gaya ji so that their gati may happen, the gati of such people does not take place: they will become Dhundhukari-like prets, and after that there will be a dosha.
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