Now, this 15-day period was named as Pitru Paksha. And Karma was given a chance to amend his mistake and was granted to enter earth to perform shradh rites where he could donate food and water in their memory. Soon realising his mistake, Karna said he never knew his ancestors and so he couldn't decide what to donate in their memory. This is when Indra told Karna that all throughout his life he had donated only gold to his ancestors during shradh, but never food. However, Karna was looking for food to eat and so went on to talk to the lord of heaven, Indra, to inquire about the matter.

When he was sent to Heaven, he was only offered gold and jewels. Karna, known to be a charitable person, donated gold to the needy ones all his life. Hindu scriptures during Mahabharata said when Karna died his soul was taken to heaven. Only the last three generations in Pitru-Loka are given shraadha rites.īefore we dive into the rituals of the festival, let us go back to the times even before stone age existed where Gods' way was the high way. It is believed when It is believed that when a person from the next generation dies, the first generation is taken to heaven bringing them closer to God. This realm is headed by the god of death, Yama. We always look for excuses to celebrate any occasion.Īccording to Hindu mythology, the souls of our previous three generations reside in 'Pitru Loka', which is known as the realm between heaven and earth. Indians are known for our grand celebrations whether it’s our wedding, birthday, Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, Biswakarma Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc. It is always valuable to know your roots. They also sprinkle water obtained after washing 14 leafy vegetables which are had for lunch and dinner. This one is generally celebrated by Bengalis the night before Kali Puja by lighting 14 earthen lamps in every corner of the house to ward off evil spirits and to show the path to good ancestral ones. Pitru Paksha and Shraddha are considered essential by Hindus to ensure their ancestors’ passage into Heaven.Īnother Hindu festival marked to invoke good ancestral spirits is Bhoot Chaturdashi. Special food is prepared for the shraddha rites, and is first offered to a crow - believed to be Yama, the keeper of pitrulok - and then to priests before the family can partake in. During Pitru Paksha, the eldest son of the deceased performs the Shraddha by making offerings for ancestors said to be in pitrulok (the realm between Heaven and earth). in the second fortnight of the Hindu calendar month of Bhadrapada. This usually falls in the fortnight immediately after the Ganesha festival, i.e. Hindus remember their ancestors during a 15-day period referred to as 'Pitru Paksha' or 'Mahalaya Paksha' or ' Sola Shraddha'.

Shradh 2020 dates