Prayers and types of the Shrāddha Ritual

'उदीरतामवर उत्‌ परास उन्‍मध्‍यमा: पितर सोम्‍यास: ।
असुं य ईयुरवृका ऋतज्ञा: ते नोऽवन्‍तु पितरो हवेषु ।।'
- ऋग्‍वेद, मंडल १०, सूक्‍त १५, ऋचा १

Meaning: Let the ancestors residing on Earth attain an evolved region. Let the ancestors who are in heaven, that is, at a higher plane of existence, never degrade. Let the ones who are at a medium plane of existence, attain a higher plane. Let the ancestors who symbolise the Truth protect us.

Also, prayer is offered to the ancestors for the continuation of the lineage, 'O Pitru-deities, give birth to a son like Ashwini Kumar, who is beautiful, healthy and who can fulfil the wishes of Deities, ancestors and all humans.

A. 'गोत्रं नो वर्धताम्‌ ।'

Meaning: Let our lineage (gotra) grow. To this the brahmins bestow blessings, "Let your lineage grow."

B. 'वीरं मे दत्त पितर: ।'

Meaning: O ancestors, give me a valiant son.

Another prayer is, 'Since the time of the origin of the Universe to date, whoever was born in the lineage of my mother and father and all the servants from these two lineages and my past births, those supported by me, those serving me, friends, disciple, pets, the plants and trees planted and cut by me, the close relatives, those who incurred favours from me and those who bestowed favours on me, get the food offered by me.

It is evident from this prayer that the Hindu Dharma teaches us to express gratitude not only to our own but also towards our benefactors, other beings and trees and plants.

For the subtle body (linga deha), the interval from the time of death to the next birth is similar to that of a foetus in the womb. Due to the mantras of the shrāddha, the blessings of the brahmins, the good wishes of the relatives and pinda-dan etc. the deceased ancestors acquire a protective sheath and get the momentum to progress.

Spiritual experience - During Pitru-paksha experiencing proximity of the deceased ancestors, being protected from them by chanting the Name of Lord Dattatreya and the deceased ancestors bestowing blessings upon resolving to perform shrāddha: For many years shrāddha was not performed in our house. During Pitru-paksha, I would see many human figures around me. They would try to touch me; but I would chant 'Sri Gurudev Datta', that is, the Name of Lord Dattatreya. Hence, I was protected from them. After watching the satsang series about Pitru-paksha, I learned that during this period the deceased ancestors come close to us. After that our family decided to perform shrāddha on Sarvapitri Amavasya. After the shrāddha ritual the ancestors blessed everyone in the family and left. - Master Advait Menon, Goa.

Performing shrāddha on the chaturthi or panchami on the Bharani asterism in the Pitru-paksha has a special importance. If possible doing the shrāddha on the Bharani asterism in addition to the tithi of death of the person helps the subtle body of the dead to be liberated from the form of being of the dead.

Reason underlying getting fruit equivalent to doing shrāddha in Gaya by doing it on the Bharani asterism: There is a subtle cover of desire-frequencies associated with the Absolute Earth and Water Principles on the gross structure of the land of Gaya. This cover is contained in a triangular structure. Hence, performing shrāddha at this place is more beneficial for the deceased ancestors' whose inferior level desires have remained unsatisfied.

The Bharani asterism that falls in the Pitru-paksha is also made of a triangle of three stars. The Deity of this triangle is Lord Yama. The Yama frequencies active in the Universe in higher proportion on this day are associated with desire-energy. When performing shrāddha on this tithi, the desire-frequencies on Earth associated with this asterism are activated. Due to this, the place of shrāddha becomes akin to that in Gaya. In the ritual of shrāddha performed on the Bharani asterism, the Yama frequencies are activated in higher proportion. The deceased ancestors benefit from these frequencies.

The woman who dies before her husband is called 'avidhawa'. Her shrāddha is performed on the tithi of Navami of Pitru-paksha. So this Navami is called 'Avidhawa Navami'.

Method of performing the shrāddha of a dead married woman on Avidhawa Navami: The shrāddha of a dead married woman should be performed on the Navami of the Pitru-paksha by the son or the husband. In this shrāddha married women are served a meal and ritualistically offered a coconut, sari and a blouse piece. As long as the husband is alive, both the Avidhawa Navami and yearly shrāddha should be performed.

On the tithi of Trayodashi, a ritual of Kakabali is performed for the dead children. On the day of the Chaturdashi of Pitru-paksha, the shrāddha of those who died in accidents is performed.

The Amavasya that falls in the Pitru-paksha is the last tithi of Pitru-paksha. If it is not possible to perform shrāddha on any day of the entire year, it is very essential that a shrāddha be performed for all the dead on the tithi of Sarvapitri Amavasya. According to the Scriptures, the Amavasya of the Pitru-paksha is the most appropriate tithi for the ritual of shrāddha.

Spiritual experience - By performing shrāddha on the Sarvapitri Amavasya, the financial difficulties getting solved, the debts getting repaid and the obstacles in spiritual practice (sadhana) getting solved: My father expired on 3rd December 1979. On the eleventh day after the death, I had a dream. In the dream I saw a monk, Lord Datta and Maruti in the temple of Lord Dattatreya in our village. Thereafter for about 18 years we did not perform shrāddha etc. On listening to the guidance on shrāddha by Sanatan Sanstha, we performed the ritual of shrāddha at our house on 11th October 2007 on the day of Sarvapitri Amavasya. On the same afternoon, a monk came asking for a meal. This monk was exactly like the monk I had seen in my dream 18 years back. After performing the ritual of shrāddha, our financial problems reduced. Due to this spiritual experience, I understood the importance of the ritual of shrāddha and my faith in it increased. - Mr. Anil Korgaokar, Maharashtra

It is clear that by performing shrāddha the difficulties are solved. Due to this the person also benefits in his after life. For this reason, shrāddha has been recommended in the religious Scriptures. Instead of shrāddha, on this day some people offer food to the poor or money to a school as per their mind. By doing this no spiritual benefit is gained.