Shraddh 2014

Dedicate Faith and Sincerity to Your Ancestor by Performing Shraddh Religiously

There are two types of life; fundamental life and physical life. At the end of the physical, according to Hindu tradition you have to perform Shraddh. It is an important ritual in Hindu religion. It is believed that when someone performs the ritual or Puja, he/she gets blessing from the ancestors for a long, prosperous and healthy life. On the other hand, if someone refuses to perform it, she/he will face hurdles in the life. With the beliefs that the ritual or pujawill bring good wills in your life. It is a tribute that is paid to parents and ancestors, on the sacred day.

Express thanks and gratitude

The puja and ritual is a way to express respect and love for parents and ancestors and pray for the soul’s peace. It is also a day to remember them. The ritual is performed separately for mother and father. It is performed after a few days of the death of the parents or other relative, and also on the lunar date of death in every year.  It has a particular day to perform. It shall be performed on the day before Sharad Navaratri, which called Shraddh Paksha or in Pitru Paksha that is the sixteen lunar day period, starts from the full moon day of Bhadrapad to new moon day of the month of Ashwin. That new moon day is celebrated as Mahalaya.

Rituals to follow

On the day of the puja, the person who is performing the puja has to invite the Brahmans to perform the puja. The favorite foods of the ancestors are offered during the puja and performed a Homa. The Brahmins are also offered food. Finally, the Pinda Pradana serves for the peace of the soul of the ancestors. Pinda is round balls made by flour and rice, which is along with flowers; kusha grass and water are also served in the Pinda Pradana. Even, some foods are also served to the crow that is believed as the connecting creature between the world beyond lives and the living’s world. The ritual called Pitruroon.

Importance of PitruPaksha

Pitru Paksha is the period when someone dedicates homage to the ancestors, and it runs through 16 days. This period is considered as a very sacred time when one can get release from his Pitra dosh, by offering Pinda, doing Shraddh and tarpan to his ancestors. Annadaana or food donation is the major part of this period. These days, people offer food to their departed parents and other ancestors, and the pindadaan, shraddh and tarpan is done every day in this period. It is to believe that, performing these rituals in that time determines that the ancestors’ souls travel to heaven.

Take a look to the calendar

From 8^th September, the Pitrupaksha 2014 is beginning. That is the first full moon day of the month of Bhadrapad. After 15 days the period is ending on 23^rdSeptember, 2014. If someone died in an accident or by poison or murder, then Chaturdashi is the day to perform the shraddh. However, you must consult to your priest before performing any ritual. You will get the whole list of the rituals and the calendar on the internet and from the priest as well.