What You Should Do During Mahalaya Paksham (Ancestor Fortnight/ Pitru Paksha)?

Doing Tarpanam is an essential duty for all Hindus, as per the scriptures. What is Tarpanam? It is a ritual for deceased ancestors. It includes offering them food (rice balls mixed with sesame seeds) and water on certain days like Amavasya/ new moon, doing some Poojas, and also acts of charity like feeding the poor.

But why is it important?

After death, our ancestors reside in a world called Pitru Loka, which lies between earth and heaven. To progress beyond this world, they need our offerings and prayers. Without these, they cannot move to higher realms and attain Moksha. Then we may incur their displeasure and anger, and they can manifest as obstacles and unfortunate events in our life, which can be summed up as ancestral curses. But when our offerings please them, they bestow many blessings on us, which ensure that we can lead happy, prosperous, and successful lives.

Rituals like Tarpanam and Shraddh are also ways by which we express our gratitude to the ancestors whose contributions underpin our current lives. Without our ancestors, we would not exist today.

Usually, one performs Shraddh/ Tharpanam on the Amavasya Tithi of every month or the death anniversary of a family member. But during Mahalaya Paksha, these rituals can be performed not only for family members but also for friends and other relatives who are deceased.

Mahalaya Paksha and Mahalaya Amavasya

Mahalaya Paksha/Pitru Paksha means ‘ancestor fortnight.’ It is a 15-day period during which Hindus perform rituals like Tarpanam and Shraddh to pay their respects to their ancestors. It ends with the new moon, which is called Mahalaya Amavasya, and this is a very auspicious day for such rituals. Many people perform Mahalaya Tarpanam on each of the 15 days. Those who cannot do it on all days perform it on Mahalaya Amavasya, which is also called Sarvapitri Amavasya.

It is believed that doing these rituals during this auspicious fortnight can bring immense blessings for us and future generations in our families.

Let us see what are the things to be done during Mahalaya Paksha:

Perform Tarpanam at dawn on all 15 days of the Ancestor Fortnight.

Do Karunya Tarpanam as well, along with the Pitru Tarpanam.

Find the Thithis on which your ancestors left this world.

Example: Your mother departed from this world on Saptami thithi during Krishna Paksham of Maasi month. Then you must do the yearly "divasam" (shraddh) ceremony on the Krishna Paksha Sapthami thithi during the same month. An “extra divasam" can be done during Mahalaya Paksha too. So, in this case, an "extra divasam" can be done on the Sapthami thithi during the Pitru Paksham..

Do many charitable deeds during this period like the below:

Feed poor people and pilgrims.

Donate clothes, footwear, cooking utensils, etc., to the poor.

Feed birds, animals, insects and other creatures. This should be done daily, but it is very important during this period. Feed crows and cows especially.

Ancestor Worship comprises two elements. They are Tarpanam, Divasam, etc., and Annadhaanam (feeding the poor). For Pitru worship to be complete, both are necessary. So, donate food to at least one needy person on each day of the Ancestor Fortnight. You can give to more people if you can afford it, and the results will be better.

Perform Tarpanam along with poor people and show them how to do it for free.

Go to Pitru Mukti (ancestor salvation) spots, especially the Siddha sacred space that is specified for each Mahalaya Paksha.

Water the "Sthala Vriksha" or the sacred trees in these temples or holy spots.

Perform Tarpanam and also do acts of charity in these sacred spots.

Chant Pitru Gayatri Mantras and Pitru 108 Divine Name Mantras during the Ancestor Fortnight.

Do all these things yourself. Nobody else can do Tarpanam in your place. You must do it by yourself to receive the blessings and rewards from the Pitrus. Many are the rewards for those who do ancestor worship regularly and with sincerity.

Perform the 'Pitru Homa'. Doing this Homa on all days of the Ancestor fortnight is very beneficial.

Conclusion

On Mahalaya Amavasya, the Pitrus return to Pitru Loka. So it is vital that we worship them and send them on their way happily.

Throughout Mahalaya Paksha, the Pitrus who visit the earth plane will be in a very compassionate mood and desire to do good for their family and bless them. Therefore we should show great devotion and perform the Shraddh sincerely if we wish to earn “Punya” from them. This will benefit our family immensely.

The Agni Purana says that those who perform Shraddh during Mahalaya Paksha will enjoy good health always, have good virtue, and long life.

Pitru Pooja is one of the most important duties we should perform for our ancestors. Thus Mahalaya Paksha is a very significant time to connect with them and gain their blessings.