Significance of Pitru Paksh, Shraaddh and Tarpan
T.N.Sethumadhavan
HINDU
SAMSKARAS
Hinduism
is a way of human life, a path of eternal spiritual discipline, the sanatan
dharma. Recognizing the needs of human beings during their lifetimes, the
ancient sages have put forward a fourfold ideal to be striven for by every
member of the society. This is called the purusharthas or the ends to be
achieved in life. They are dharma, artha, kama and moksha i.e. duty or
righteousness, wealth, bodily desires and liberation from transmigratory
existence respectively. Unless some higher norms and standards are prescribed
there cannot be any fairness in playing the game of life to achieve these ends and
as a consequence jungle law only will prevail. It is these rules or norms that
go by the omnibus term “dharma” for which there is no English
equivalent. For our purposes we will interpret this term as duty or
responsibility or obligation. Thus dharma is made applicable to each member of
the society according to the class or varna to which he belongs and
according to his stage in life.
Hindism
believes that a human being gets purified and refined by undertaking certain
rites or rituals referred to as samskaras which are generally taken as
sixteen in number (sodasa-sasamskaras). The Hindu scriptures do not
consider birth as the starting point of life. It goes farther back since the
incident of birth is primarily conditioned by heredity and parentage. Keeping
this in mind, the samskaras for a person start from the time of his conception
(Garbhadhana) and end with funeral rites (antyeshthi).
The
antyeshthi stands for all the post-death ceremonies performed by the son
of the deceased for his future welfare and to be freed from the debt or
obligation he owes to his parents. These post-death rituals do not come to an
end with the conclusion of the prescribed number of days of the mourning period
immediately following the death but extends throughout the lifetime of the surviving
son, though on a smaller scale.
Apart
from the ceremonies to be performed every month following the death culminating
in the first anniversary of the death, Hindu Dharma prescribes that the
forefathers should be worshipped thereafter also. When they leave this world it
becomes the Vedic duty of their descendants (sons) to worship their departed
souls on a daily basis apart from the specific days like New Moon day (amavasya),
Eclipse Days (grihan), Parva Kala (Uttarayana, Dakshinayana), Pushkara
Days, on the specific day (thithi) of their death, on visiting any Theertha
Kshetras etc.
Among
these rites the important ones to be undertaken by the son in honor of his
deceased parents and forefathers are Tarpan on every newmoon day (Amavasya),
Shraaddh on each anniversary of the deceased and most importantly the rites to
be performed during the Pitrupaksh.
RUNA
TRAYA:
CONCEPT OF THREE DEBTS
A
discerning person will naturally seek an answer to the question why at all
these rituals are required to be performed. Hinduism answers this query when it
says that every person who is born is under five runas or debts to his
manes and others from whom he derives benefit as a member of the society. They are called pancha maha runas (five
great debts) to clear which he has to undertake pancha maha yajnas (five
great sacrifices). They are 1. deva yajna (sacrifice to the gods), 2. pitru
yajna (sacrifice to the manes or forefathers), 3. rishi yajna or
brahma yajna (sacrifice to the sages learned in the Vedas), 4. nriyajna
(feeding the visiting hungry human beings) and 5. bhuta yajna (feeding
the animals). There were no schemes of loan waiver or writing off of the debt
in those days.
It
was considered that by performing these sacrifices daily, the householder is
actually repaying the debts to the divine beings and the society from whom he
has received help and sustenance. They also help him in offsetting the sins he
might be committing knowingly or unknowingly during his daily life.
Among
these the first three types of debts viz.1. debt to the gods (deva runa),
2. debt to the forefathers (pitru runa) and 3. debt to the sages (rishi
runa) are given priority which is called runa traya. The idea of
three debts under which every human being is born has been found in the Rig
Veda (8.32.16; 6.61.1), Taitriya Samhita (6.3.10.5) and the Satapatha Brahmana
(1.7.2.11). The first type of debt is repaid by the performance of yajnas
or Vedic sacrifices to the gods; the second by marrying according to dharma
and begetting successors and doing shraaddhas to the deceased ancestors and
the third by study of the Vedas. We are
concerned in this essay with the rituals relating to the deceased forefathers for
clearing pitru runa.
PITRU
LOKA
The
Sanskrit word ‘pitr’ becomes ‘pita’ in the singular and ‘pitarah’
in the plural; the former means ‘father’, the latter is used in several senses
like forefathers or ancestors occupying their own world called Pitruloka.
The most common meaning as used in Shraaddhas is three generations of
ancestors viz. father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
In
Hinduism, the pitrus (forefathers or manes) are always respected.
Normally, once a year at least, the descendents are expected to pay homage to
them through religious rites known as ‘Shraaddh’. It is believed that
even as the descendents are eager to appease their forefathers, the pitrus
too are eager to receive such appeasement. The Markandeya Purana describes such
instances of eagerness on the part of the pitrus to get good food (in
the Shraaddhas), to receive oblations of water during Tarpans and
to get a Shraaddha performed at holy places like Gaya. For these acts of offering them food etc.
they, in turn, bless their descendents and are pleased if they become Vedic
scholars and devotees of Vishnu. It is believed that during the performance of shraaddhas
these pitrus accept the offerings by assuming the form of birds or by
entering into the invitee brahmanas through their subtle bodies.
In
this context the following verse from the Bhagavad Gita where Arjuna laments
about the ancestors losing their status on account of their being deprived of
offerings to them is relevant.
sankaro narakaayaiva kulaghnaanaam kulasya cha
patanti pitaro hyeshaam luptapindodaka kriyaah // 1.42 //
Admixture of castes leads the family and the
slayers of the family to hell because the spirits of their ancestors fall,
deprived of the offerings of rice and water.
We find from the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita
that the ancient Hindus believed in two paths by which the soul of a departed
person could go either to the Brahma loka or to the Chandra loka. The former is called Devayana and the latter is known as pitruyana. The Rig Veda (10.14.2 and 7) mentions the pitruloka as a place where one’s departed ancestors live. The Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad (6.2.16) considers Pitruloka as a station on the path of Pitruyana (the path of manes).
TARPAN
The
word ‘tarpana’ means satiating or satisfying. It implies the rites relating
to satisfying the departed souls particularly one’s forefathers. It consists of
standing in water after bathing in a river or tank and offering water thrice
taking it in the joined palms of hand, with appropriate mantras to all
beings of creation from Brahma down to the blade of grass. Manusmriti (2.176)
says that Tarpan to devas, pitrus and rishis is a compulsory part
of the daily routine of every brahmacharin. The water may be mixed with gingelly
seeds (til). Tarpana is said to satiate the gods, manes and sages to
whom it is offered.
SHRAADDH
Hinduism
considers death as a transition from one life to another. It believes that the
disembodied soul badly needs help and succor from its descendents, not only
during the period following the death of the physical body but also during its
journey to the other worlds. It is here that comes the role of the various
rites performed immediately after death and also other rites that are repeated
every month for a year or even every year thereafter. These rites generally go by
the name ‘shraaddh’; the literature on the subject of shraaddh is
enormous.
The
word ‘shraaddh’ is generally taken to mean after-death rites and
subsequent ceremonies. ‘Shraaddh’ is performed by a competent descendent
of the deceased ancestors with shraddha or faith. It is done for the
benefit of three generations of ancestors viz. father, grandfather and
great-grandfather. It has to be performed at the appropriate time (afternoon or
aparahna) and place (preferably holy places like Gaya, Prabhasa, Prayag,
Varanasi, Ujjain, Kurukhetra, Badrinath etc.) as determined by the sastras
and family traditions. It may be accomplished by giving either cooked food or
uncooked articles of food or gold or money to worthy brahmanas.
Generally for the majority of the people pinda daana – offering cooked
rice-balls to the pitrus is very important in this ritual. The entire ritual
is then dedicated to Lord Narayana with a prayer for forgiveness for the faults
that might have unknowingly crept in.
The original concept
of performing the ritual of Shrāddha was conceived by Sage Atri, the son of Lord Brahma. Sage Atri narrated
the ritual of Shrāddha, as laid down by Lord Brahma to Nimi, one of His descendants.
This established ritual has continued till today. Manu was the first one
to perform the ritual of Shrāddha.
Hence he is called the deity of Shrāddha.
According to Ramayan
when Lord Rama, Goddess Sita and Lakshmana were staying in the forest, Bharat met and appraised them about the death
of their father. After hearing this sad news Lord Ram performed the ritual of Shrāddh for his deceased father.
Pinda
Daana
Pindapradaana or simply pinda
daana occupies an important place in the post-death ceremonies. Pindas
are rice-balls prepared by mixing cooked rice with other articles of food left
over in the cooking vessels after the invitee brahmanas have been fed.
Three such balls are made which are kept on the ground on a banana leaf or a
dried leaf covered with darbha or kusha grass and til and
offered to the three generations of pitrus (who are believed to accept
them by assuming the form of birds (crows) or animals such as cows or through
water in the flowing rivers like Ganga or sacred tanks and lakes like Pushkar
or brahmakund at Kurukshetra or brahmakapal at Badrinath).
Pitrupaksha
In
the context of the question when the offerings to the departed ancestors as
described above have to be made, pitru paksha or the fortnight dedicated
to the forefathers assumes significance. The fifteen days of the dark fortnight
(krishna paksha) of the month of Bhadrapada (according to the
lunar calendar) or the month of Ashwin (according to the solar calendar)
roughly corresponding to September-October in the Gregorian calendar are called
pitru paksha or mahalaya paksha and the new-moon day (amavasya)
occurring in that period as Mahalaya Amavasya or Sarvapitru Amavasya.
These days are considered to be extremely appropriate for performing the
post-death rites (shraaddh, tarpan, daan etc,) to the departed
forefathers.
The answer to
the question why specifically this period has been chosen lies in the ancient
story relating to the Mahabharata Hero, Karna. According to the legend, Karna
could not get any food to eat when he went after his death to the higher
regions, though he could get plenty of silver and gold there. This was because
he had donated plenty of gold and silver but not food during his lifetime.
Distressed much he prayed to Lord Yama, the god of death, and through his
grace, returned to this earth during this paksha or the fortnight. He
then gifted plenty of food to the hungry and reached back to his allotted
higher plane. Hence annadaana or giving food to the hungry has become the
central part of the rituals during these days. Yama also ordained that offerings made on these days would
benefit all departed souls whether they were related to the donor or not.
On all the
fifteen days, offerings are made to the departed manes, including those whose
names or manner of death are not known. On these days tarpan, shraaddha and
pinda daan are performed daily according to the procedures under the
guidance of a priest. Although these rites are to be carried out daily in this
fortnight, it is considered that to perform them on the last day i.e. on Mahalaya
Amavasya or Sarva Pitru Amavasya is considered extremely important
and highly sacred. Sarvapitri amavasya ("all fathers' new moon day") is intended for all
ancestors, irrespective of the lunar day they died. It is the most important
day of the Pitru Paksha Those who
have missed performing shraddha for any unavoidable reason can do so on
this day. A shraddha ritual performed on this day is considered as
fruitful as one conducted in the holy city of Gaya,
which is considered as a special place to perform these rites.
Persons
who perform these rites observe certain basic disciplines or austerities like
not having a shave, abstinence from pleasures etc. during this period. As these
days are considered inauspicious for any new ventures, no new purchases or
business commitments are undertaken. Feeding the priests and other invitee brahmanas
with kheer or payasam during this period is considered to be
highly pleasing to the pitrus or the manes.
It is called as Mahalaya because the
word ‘Maha’ means great
or big or large and ‘Laya’ means destruction. Mahalaya therefore means great destruction
caused during the war between Deities
and Demons wherein large number of Devathas and Rishis had died in the hands of
Rakshasas during the period starting from Bhadrapada Bahula Paadyami to
Amavasya. These Deities and Rishis are like our forefathers and it is befitting
to worship such departed souls during this fortnight that coincides with
Mahalaya. Hence, this fortnight has become very sacred and celestial for
performing sacred rites to forefathers.
It is believed that the departed souls will
attain peace by the rituals and rites performed during Pitru Paksha and they
will, in turn, give their blessings to the descendents who performed these
ceremonies for their welfare and prosperity of their Vamsam or lineage. It is
said that departed souls for whom these rituals are not performed wander
aimlessly on the Earth. It is believed that performance of these rites to
forefathers will work as a remedy for various mundane problems one may face day
to day.
FINALE
Finally, shorn of all the
rituals and myths, this is a fortnight of remembrances. and thanks giving. It
reminds all of us to be grateful to our forefathers on this day and to pray for
them who have left this world. Even if our rational mind, soaked in scientific ideas,
may not justify the rationale behind these ceremonies, it might still be a good
idea to just remember our forefathers and silently pay our obeisance to them.
In this connection the
words of Maha Mahopadyaya Dr.P.V.Kane in his work “History of Dharma
Shastra” Vol. IV (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune) can be
profitably recalled.
“It is a good practice to set apart at least one day in a
year for the remembrance of one’s near and dear relatives, friends and learned
people that are no more, to invite relatives, friends and learned people to a
dinner in memory of the dead and to bestow monetary gifts on poor but learned
persons of character and devoted to the practice of plain living and high
thinking. This will be in keeping with our past traditions and will also give a
new orientation to and infuse new life into practices that have become lifeless
and meaningless to many people”. (Quoted
in the “The Concise Encyclopaedia of Hinduism” Vol.3 published by Ramakrishna
Math, Bangalore).
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