As Pitra Paksh or Shradh Paksh starts, it is time to remember our ancestors with reverential gratitude and to perform rituals for the peace of the departed souls while praying for their blessing.
Rituals performed on the occasion include taking a holy dip in Ganga, fasting in the morning and offering prayers at noon as well as giving food and clothes to the priests and poeple in need. Food was also offered to cows, dogs, birds and crows. They are considered as intermediaries to carry the foods to our ancestors.
Speaking on the importance of the offering food to the animals and the birds, a priest associated with Ganga Mahasabha Abhishek Pandey said that the Rishis and Munis of this ancient land have connected every ritual with doing some service for others. “This has fostered an integral system that ensures maintenance of the bonds of our societal life, linking all under an all-encompassing and vibrant structure with all.
Under this overarching system, humans and the animals are linked together, one providing for the sustenance of the other. Ascetics are being taken care of by the householders while even animals are made vibrant parts of the age old rituals,” he said.
Etymologically, the word Shradh is derived from the word ‘Shradhha’ which means reverence. The paksh means a fortnight during which the ancestors are remembered. Even a moment’s remembrance of one’s ancestors is enough to make them happy, says the seer Swami Nityshudhananda. “Shradh is not just a formality of performing some rituals, but it carries a message of taking care of parents when they are alive. It is said that one who serves his parents during their lifetime are blessed and things gain more merit when they remember them even after they are freed from the mortal coils,” said the seer.
Pitra Paksh or Shradh period begins with Purnima (full moon as per lunar calendar) and culminates on the Amavasya of Ashwin month which will fall on September 19 this year. Generally, the people perform the Shradh ritual for the relatives following their deaths on specific date fixed as per the lunar calendar. People who somehow could not have performed the rituals then can perform the same on Amavasya of the month.
A seer while talking to this correspondent cites an episode from Mahabharata to stress the importance of offering prayer to the ancestors. “Karna who was known by the sobriquet ‘Danveer Karna’ was benevolence incarnate. After he died he was taken straight to heaven where he was offered gold and silver to eat. lord Indra explained this treatment by saying that he had been sent back to earth only because he had not performed Shradh for his ancestors in his early birth prior to the last one. He was sent just for atonement for his failure to perform the important ritual. He atoned in full in his last birth and he was liberated from the imperative of returning to the earth to suffer consequences as per the immutable law of Karma,” he recounted.