Śrāddha or Shraaddha is a Sanskritword which literally means anything or any act that is performed with all sincerity and absolute faith in it.. In the Hindu religion, it is the ritual that one performs to pay homage to one's 'ancestors', especially to one's deadparents. Conceptually, it is a way for people to express heartfelt gratitude and thanks towards their parents and ancestors, for having helped them to be what they are and praying for their peace. It also can be thought of as a "day of remembrance". It is performed for both the father and mother separately, on their respective 'thithi' - death anniversaries as per Indian calendar. In addition it is performed for the entire community of 'pitr' - both from paternal and maternal side -collectively during the Pitru Paksha or Shraaddhapaksha, right before SharadNavaratri in autumn.
In practice, the karta invites Brahmanaas that day, invokes in them the divinity of his/her parent, worships and feeds them performs a homa, appeasing Agni and Soma - the deities who transmit the offerings to the ancestors, nourish and protect them and offers balls of rice to the departed souls.The offerings are made to three generations i.e. father, grandfather and great grandfather / mother, fathers’mother, fathers’ grandmother. The karta extends hospitality to the priest and concludes the ceremony by giving "dakshina" to the brahmanaas.. Crows are also revered in Hinduism and during Śrāddha the practice of offering food or pinda to crows is still in vogue. Since this is one of the more important and noble "" that the Hindusages have envisaged, it is imperative that the performer of the ritual understands what he or she is doing. Only then will the true intent of the ritual be fulfilled and the performer of the ritual feel completely gratified. Else, the ritual becomes just a mechanical exercise for one's part.
The Shraadha period
The scripture mandate performing 96 Shraddha karmas. However, these practices are difficult to be adhered to. In addition, once in year offerings are to a larger universe of forefathers - during the pitr paksha. In Hindu amanta calendar, second half of the month Bhadrapada is called Pitru Paksha: Pitripaksha or Shraddha paksha and its amavasya is called sarvapitri amavasya. This part is considered inauspicious in muhurtshashtra. At this time crops in India and Nepal are ready and the produce is offered as a mark of respect and gratitude first to the ancestors be they parents or forefathers before other festivals like Navaratri begin. Many people visitHindu pilgrimage sites to perform, Shraadha ceremonies, like Haridwar, Gokarneshwar, Nashik, Gaya etc. Haridwar is also known for its Hindu genealogy registers.
