pooja

Offering libations of water and til (gingely) to the pitrus (deceased parents and ancestors – manes) to satisfy and elevate them to higher spiritual planes is called “pitru tarpaNam”. This is an opportunity to honour the sages, gods, parents, ancestors and friends. This is a part of

is one of the “pancha mahAyagyAs – 5 yagyAs”. ( refer SamskAram no.23). According to Manusmriti 3.68, पञ्च सूना ग्रुहस्तस्य चुल्ली पॆषण्युपस्कर: | कण्डनी च उदकुम्भश् च बध्यतॆ यास् तु वाहयन् || “pancha soonA gruhastasya chullee pEShaNyupaskara: kaNdanee cha udakumbhash cha badhyatE yAs tu vAhayan” “There are 5 p

slaughter houses in the house of a householder. The hearth (stove), the grinding-stone, the broom, the pestle and mortar, the water vessel.

He kills millions of small and invisible creatures daily, which bind him to inevitable sin. It is to expiate all these five sins that the “pancha mahA yagyAs” were prescribed daily for householders”. Manusmriti further says in 3.70, पितृ यज्ञस्तु तर्पणं , pitru yagyas tu tarpaNam Out of the above 5, tarpaNam is one of the yagyAs. pitru tarpaNam is offered to 3 generations of ancestors viz: paternal and maternal father, grandfather and great grandfather and their respective wives so that they are exalted to higher spiritual planes. We invoke the pitrUs in the form of the presiding deities of the pitru Loka and the tarpaNam, the vasu, rudra and AdityA, on the bhugnam /koorcham, in due order of the 3 generations. :Refer “vasurudrAditya swaroopAnAm” in tarpaNam mantrA. We then offer water which they love and til with mantras. We then request at the end of the tarpaNam, that this til and water be converted into suitable food for the pitrUs may it be amrutam, ghee, water, milk, grass, blood or any other food according to their present requirement. ( They may be in heaven, may be reborn as men or trees or in any other form)..refer tarpaNam mantra taken from Yajur Veda Samhita “oorjam vahantee: amrutam ghrutam paya: keelAlam parishrutam svadhAstha tarpayata mE pitrUn”. The food is called “swadhA”.

The son of a deceased father should start doing “pitru tarpaNam” after one year from the death of his father. MahAbhAratam, Adi parvA, 74.39 ? and manu smriti 9.138 says पुन्नाम्नॊ नरकाद् यस्मात्पितरम् त्रायते सुत: । तस्मात्पुत्र इति प्रॊक्त: स्वयमॆव स्वयम्भुवा ॥ “punnAmnO narakAdayasmAtpitaram trAyate suta: tasmAtputra iti prOkta: svayamEva svayambhuvA” The son is called “putra” because he rescues the ancestors from hell called “put”. The swayambhuva bhagavan named the son as putra.

1. MahAbhAratam, anusAsana parva section 145 says: धन्यम् यशस्यम् आयुश्यम् स्वर्गम् शत्रुविनाशनम् | सन्तारकम् चेति श्राद्धमाहूर् मनीक्षिण: || dhanyam yashasyam Ayushyam swargam shatruvinAshanam | santArakam cheti shrAddhamAhoor maneekshiNa: || The shrAddh/tarpaNam in honour of the pitrUs bestows wealth, fame, longevity, heaven, destruction of enemies and progeny. 2. vishnu purANA, chapter 3, adhyAy 14, verses 12 to 14 say: एता युगाद्या: कथिता: पुराणॆष्वनन्तपुण्यास्तिथश्चस्त्र:। उपप्लवे चन्द्रमसो रवॆश्च त्रिष्वष्टकास्वप्ययनद्वयॆ च ॥ पानीयमप्यत्र तिलैर्विमिश्रं दद्यात्पितृभ्य प्रयतॊ मनुष्य:। श्राद्धं क्रुतम् तॆन समासहस्रं रहस्यमॆतत्पितरॊ वदन्ति ॥ EtA yugAdyA: kathitA: purANE ShvanantapuNyAstithashchastra:| upaplave chandramaso ravEshcha triShvaShTakAsvapyayanadvayE cha || pAneeyamapyatra tilairvimishraM dadyAtpitRubhya prayatO manuShya:| shrAddhaM krutam tEna samA sahasraM rahasyamEtatpitarO vadanti ||

# The days when pitru tarpaNam should be performed are :

1. On 96 days (refer shaNNavati below) in the morning after snAnam, sandhyAvandanam, brahma yagyam, mAdhyAnnikam and bhagavat ArAdhanA.

2. On solar and lunar eclipses: At the onset of the solar eclipse, one must take bath and do the tarpaNam immediately. But at the onset of the lunar eclipse, one must take bath immediately but start the tarpaNam in the last part of the eclipse and finish it with the eclipse.

3. On parEhani tarpaNam day, the day following the annual shrAddh of the parents, one must do tarpaNam in the morning after sandhyAvandanam.

# The time of the day when shrAddh or tarpaNam should be done is :

It is important to understand the following divisions of a day to decide the exact time of performance of a tarpaNam or shrAddham. Many Rushis have contributed to the determination of kAlA. There seem to be more than 3 ways of dividing the day into kAlAs. One such way is explained below:

A day of 24 hours consists of 60 nAzhikAs (30 nAzhikAs of day and 30 nAZhikAs of night)

1 day (12 hours) = 30 nAzhikAs which is divided into 5 kAlAs

Each kAlA = 6 nAzhikAs = around 2.24 hours

One nAzhikA = approx.. 0.37 hours (22.4 minutes)

Assuming that the sunrise is at 6: a.m., then