Pitrpaksh(a)/ Pitru Paksh/ Shraadh
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An overview
Devdutt Pattanaik, Sep 10, 2022: The Times of India
During the Indian monsoons – between Ganesh Utsav and Navratri – Hindus observe Pitrpaksha, fortnight of the pitr, ancestors. This is a dark fortnight of the lunar month, in the dark half of the year. It is a time to feed the dead. Facing the south, Hindu men across India are seen placing mashed rice balls mixed with black sesame seeds, known as pinda, on blades of grass, near water bodies. They pour water on these pinda in a peculiar way, known as tarpana. Crows are encouraged to eat this rice.
Many Hindu families avoid buying cars, houses or even new clothes. No contracts are signed. No weddings conducted. This hesitance is interesting for what it reveals of the ambiguous relationship Hindus have with the dead. The ancestors are venerated and need tobe fed, it’s true. However, all things associated with death are also deemed inauspicious and impure. The dominant mainstream Hindu understanding of death comes from the Preta-kalpa of the Garud Purana, which was composed a thousand years ago, and is still read during funeral ceremonies. The ritual of shradh that involves offering pinda to ancestors can be traced to Grihya-sutra literature, which is over 2,500 years old, indicating a remarkable continuity of tradition. The word ‘pitr’ used for ancestors can be traced even to the Rig Veda, Hinduism’s oldest scripture.
While the practice of giving food and gifts to the dead is found in many cultures, Hindu customs are unique as they are based on the metaphysics of rebirth, not an eternal afterlife. Hindus believenothing is permanent, not even death. The dead eventually return to the land of the living to repay unpaid debts. Life is needed to free oneself from the burden of debts. Feeding the dead is itself an obligation, a repayment of debt. Those alive owe their life and privilege to the dead. The dead depend on the living to facilitate their return to the land of the living and keep the circle of life turning.
This idea of eternal return is embedded in the Hindu mind through ritual and story. Today, festivals of Ganesh and Durga are celebrated over ten days and nine nights to remind us of ten lunar months and nine solar months of pregnancy. After the festival, clay effigies of the deity are cast into water bodies, like the ashes of the dead. Thus, even the gods are impermanent. They go awaythis year but will return next year, mimicking the reality of punar mrityu, re-death, and punar janma, rebirth, mentioned in the Upanishads.
Hindus share their ideas of rebirth with the other faiths of Indian origin, such as Buddhism and Jainism. Myths in most other parts of the world are built around a single life followed by an eternal afterlife. Even in India there are communities such as the Lingayats and the neo-Buddhists who do not believe in rebirth. When you believe you live only once, this life and this body become special. Both are commemorated with tombs and tombstones, a practice shunned by orthodox Hindus who want the dead to move on, not stay back.
There is much to learn about Hindu culture by approaching it through its death rituals. (Abridged from Garuda Purana And Other Hindu Ideas On Death, Rebirth And Immortality)
Sita ji’s sacred defiance of Dasharath’s shraadh=
Savita Jha, Oct 6, 2023: www.speakingtree.in
During this Pitru Paksh, when many of us are paying homage to our ancestors, here goes a littleknown anecdote from the Anand Ramayan, Tirth Yatra Kanda. This is a story of Sita’s curses and blessings at Gaya.
During their forest exile, after the demise of King Dasharath, Ram with Lakshman, and Sita reached Gaya through the forest and wanted to perform the ritual known as shraadh for his father. While Ram and Lakshman went to procure the ritual necessities, Sita waited on the banks of the Falgu river.
Since it was getting late and the sun was setting, King Dasharath in spirit form, expressed his concern about the rapid passing of the auspicious hour, and demanded that she begin the ritual. Sita tried to defer, as traditionally, women don’t perform shraadh, and suggested that they wait for his sons to do the needful, but Dasharath insisted. Finally, Sita gave in and made arrangements for the pind daan herself. Pind is an offering of a rounded ball of rice, dotted with sesame seeds, considered as a way to salvation for the departed soul. Using a mound of sand, Sita invoked nature and creatures such as the Falgu river, a cow, crow, basil plant, a Brahmin, and a banyan tree as witnesses who would testify to her sincerity.
When Ram and Lakshman returned and saw this, they were surprised and questioned Sita. She explained her urgency and invoked her witnesses. But much to her surprise, all of them remainedsilent except for the banyan tree.
An angry Sita then issued her now famous curse, ‘Sita Shraap’ against the river, which was to remain dry, against the cow, crow, basil plant and the Brahmin.
This episode exemplifies Sita’s unwavering commitment to her dharma and her determination to uphold her responsibilities, regardless of societal norms. It challenges gender norms and emphasises Sita’s pivotal role in shaping the Ramayan’s events.
To delve deeper into the notion of women’s agency within the Indian sacred tradition, can we turn to this episode from the Anand Ramayan as a source? It serves as a poignant example of how women actively participate in rituals and decisions that may not be conventionally associatedwith their gender, highlighting their agency and contributions to India’s spiritual space.
During Pitru Paksh, women actively participate in the rituals and ceremonies associated with ancestral worship. They contribute to the preparation of offerings, engage in prayers, and observe traditions that underscore their pivotal role in maintaining the ancestral legacy. The practice of ancestor worship and reverence for folk gods are central to various regions of India and Southeast Asia. These traditions emphasise the connection between people and their heritage, highlighting cultural continuity and spiritual bonds with ancestors and local deities.
Women’s place in Indian history is a complex and nuanced subject, marked by their simultaneous presence and absence in historical narratives. One crucial aspect of rewriting history from a woman-inclusive standpoint is the recognition that historical sources are not limited to conventional historical documents. In the Indian context, a significant portion of historical sources comprises myths, religious texts, and various forms of literary productions such as the Anand Ramayan.
