SHRADH DATES and INFORMATION

Shradh:

     From Poornima, 19^th September to Amavasya of 4^th October, is a great time for performance of various important things. This time being especially great for doing pitra shradh. But many people of other religions will counter it by saying that nothing of this sort is needed. But one has seen through personal experience, people born in other religions also felt the effect while performing such special ceremonies. Anyway one is not suggesting everybody to follow but it is meant for those who have faith in it.

      Life and death is a continuous circle. One who is born is bound to die and one who has died is sure to be born again, normally. When a person dies, his soul moves out of the gross body and is unable to come back into it. During this state, his pran moves out of the gross carrying all his senses. Thus, we can say that such a pret (the name for this state of the soul) has all the desires of a human being but is without any form to experience it himself. Hence it always likes to experience its desires through other bodies. But if it starts doing this, its further journey will stop and evolution will be hampered. To take care of this, our rishis of the ancient times devised ways to keep this process of evolution going on. Thus the first thing they devised was to burn his previous body so that its attachment to it may not stop its further movement ahead on the evolutionary ladder.

     Second was to provide him with a subtle body for onward movement. For this, a 'pind' is offered every day for 10 days and thus a subtle body is actually prepared for the departed soul to enter into and move ahead in his journey. Generally such pret-atmas like darkness. Not to allow it to come back in its earlier dwelling place again, a deepak (light) is also kept lighted for ten days continuously during which time its new subtle body is prepared and offered to enter into. Thus by burning its previous body, lighting deepak for ten days, we try to close return path.

       Now to fulfill its desires, it can also work through the mind of the house elder at that time. To stop this, the elder who ties a pagri (head gear) on his head during kriya ceremony, indicating his ascent to family elder status, shaves hair on his head at the time of death. As it is said that thoughts are passed into his brain through his hair. So those are also cut on the very first day of the death in the family. Thus all the return doors of the departed soul are closed and it is forced to move ahead in evolutionary journey. 

 

Generally during the first, after death, whole year; every month on the tithi (date) of death of the person a Brahmin is offered food. Then during 2nd and 3rd year food is offered to Brahmin on the same date as of death. While during fourth year, very eleborate procedure is performed with the help of pandits adept in it. Then after that ,shradh of the departed soul is performed during pitra paksh only, on the same tithi .

     Though there are many eleborate procedures to be performed but some minimum things can be done by anyone to reap the benefit. Tarpan and bhojan (food to brahmins) can be two things, as explained later. Such rites are done on the date of death (as per Hindu calendar) of the person. On whatsoever tithi a person left his body during anytime of the year, the same tithi is used during this paksh of the year for his shradh. If we do not know the exact date of death than we can use amavasya tithi. 

Pitra gayatri mantra, which can be used during such times is given below:

Pitr Gayatri:

Devtabhyah Pitribhyashch, Mahayogibhya Aiv Ch,

Namah Swahayai Swadhayai, Nityamev Namoh Namah.

As per Brahmpurana, every amavasya (night of no moon)/poornima (night of full moon) of a month is excellent for shradh. It has also enumerated details of fruits of doing shardh on various tithis (dates as per Hindu calendar) which are being shared here for the interested readers.

Date of Shradh                                    Fruit

Pratipada                                             good for wealth.

Dwitiya                                                for children

Tritiya                                                  for male children

Chaturthi                                             annihilation of enemies.

Panchami                                            for wealth, luxmi.

Shashti                                                 for earning respect

Saptami                                               for control over ganas.

Ashtami                                               great intellect.

Navmi                                                  for good wife.

Dashmi                                                for fulfillment of desires

Ekadashi                                             understanding of all Vedas.

Dwadashi                                           for gaining victory

Trayodashi                                         long life, children, medha, cattle etc.

Chaturdashi                                       for youthfull body and for those who

                                                             Died by attack of various armaments.

Amavasya                                           all desires, for eternal heaven.

    For offering during this time, one should use jaggery mixed grains, black sesame seeds, honey and honey mixed grains.

During rainy season and when Magha nakshatra is there, kheer mixed with honey is very much liked by pitras (ancestors).

By performing poojan during Kritika nakshatra       They ascend to heaven.

By performing poojan during Rohini nakshatra       For getting children          

By performing poojan during Adra nakshatra     Strength & spirit to fight recvd.

By performing poojan during Punarvasu nakshatra        for good wife

By performing poojan during Pushya nakshatra              eternal wealth

By performing poojan during Ashlesha nakshatra           great long life

By performing poojan during Magha nakshatra             for getting children

By performing poojan during P.Faguni nakshatra           for good fortune

By performing poojan during U.Faguni nakshatra           great children

By performing poojan during Hasta nakshatra   Knowledge of scriptures   

By during Chitra nakshatra  Good form, tej and children

By performing poojan during Swati nakshatra               good business

By performing poojan during Vishakha nakshatra          desires fulfilled

By performing poojan during Anuradha nakshatra       Emperor  

                                                                       (King ruling a very big area).

By performing poojan during Jyeshtha nakshatra          becomes a ruler

By performing poojan during Mool nakshatra                 disease free body

By ,,   ,,   ,,   P.Ashadha nakshatra     Great spirit to fight received

By performing poojan during U.Ashadha nakshatra      anguish removed

By performing poojan during Shravan nakshatra       great realm achieved

By performing poojan during Dhanishtha nakshatra     wealth received   

By performing poojan during Abhijit nakshatra         knowledge of vedas

By performing poojan ,, Shatbhisha nakshatra      sidhi in vedic karmas

By performing poojan during P.Bhadrapad nakshatra   cattle received

By performing poojan during U.Bhadrapad nakshatra   cows received

By performing poojan during Revti nakshatra                 meatals received

By performing poojan during Ashwin nakshatra             horses received

By performing poojan during Bharni nakshatra              long life

      Father, grand father, and great grand father are offered pind, while the earlier three generation of them do not require pind offering. Now the question arises that after offering pind for shradh, what should be done with them on completion of the ceremony? These further details have been given on this, in the same Purana, as below -

If they are put in a river          one gets good intellect, glory and fame.

If they are put in fire               one who desires bhog

If pitamah pind is offered       then children take birth.
to one’s own wife with following mantra:   

‘Avat pitro Garbham’.

If offered to crows                   who desires long life

If offered to roosters               one who wants to open school for children

     One should pick up the pind for any of the above purposes only after taking permission from the Brahmin performing the ceremony.

     One should offer silk, cotton etc cloth to Brahmin.

    Chanting the above mentioned Pitra Gayatri Mantra, it is said pitras become very happy and come quickly to take their part.

One should offer the eatables to ancestors saying,  ‘Aish Swadha Astu’.

      During such ceremonies food is offered to Brahmins. It is said our pitras come in the form of the air element and eat food through Brahmins. If one closely observes, it is said that Brahmin will like that very food which a specific pitra use to like during his days on earth. If possible one should offer them food in silver utensils. Do not use iron metal ones.

    It is said pitras like kusha, black daal, sathi rice, cows milk, honey, cows ghee, moong dal, sugar cane, white flowers. Some items are not at all liked by them and hence they should not be used in their food offering, namely, Masoor daal, green peas, rajmash,  kulthi, lotus, bilv fruit, madaar, dhatura, milk of goat etc., alsi, mahua.

The best time of offering such food to Brahmins is called KUTUP MUHURAT which falls from 4th to 8th muhurat from the sunrise. Each muhurat is 48 mintes. thus one can easily calculate from the time of sunrise on that particular day.

     While offering tarpan water to them, offer in the South direction. For this, we use kusha, black sesame seeds and silver. It is said, when water touches kusha it becomes nectar and pitras are very fond of silver.  So the offering of this sesame mixed water should be released from the space between our thumb and forefinger. This place is called Pitr tirth. Kusha used in the ceremony is considered to have come from the body of varah, who brought earth out of the water, hence considered very auspicious. It is also said that in the base of kusha resides Brahma, in the middle Lord Vishnu and in the top Lord Shiva.

Note : Also see article Swaha, Swadha, Dakshina and Phal under label 'From Puran'.

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