TV
Pitru Paksha, a fortnight dedicated to venerating ancestors in the Hindu calendar, will begin on September 7, 2025, and end on September 21, 2025, coinciding with Sarvapitri Amavasya (Mahalaya Amavasya).
The observance, also referred to as Sorah Shraddha, Mahalaya, Apara Paksha, or Pitarpas, is regarded as a spiritually powerful phase, though often seen as inauspicious due to its connection with funeral rites and death-related customs.
Pitru Paksha in 2025 will commence on 7 September and conclude on 21 September. The period will culminate with Sarvapitri Amavasya (Mahalaya Amavasya), which also falls on 21 September 2025.
Pitru Paksha 2025 commences on 7 September, which is also marked by a Chandra Grahan (lunar eclipse), considered the most potent of the year. Astrologers believe this celestial event heightens the emotional and cosmic energy of the period, making the ancestral rites even more significant and spiritually charged.
The observance this year is especially stringent about ritual purity. Participants are urged to follow satvik dietary practices, abstaining from meat, onion, garlic, alcohol, and other impure foods.
Additionally, the community is emphasising avoidance of actions such as starting new ventures, grooming, heated arguments, or wastefully discarding food, all to uphold the sanctity and respect of ancestral remembrance.
Spiritual Significance
According to Hindu belief, this period marks the descent of ancestral souls to Earth to receive offerings from their descendants. Families conduct Shraddh rites to discharge Pitru Rin (ancestral debt), with the expectation of obtaining blessings, peace, and prosperity. Many regard the observance as essential to maintaining harmony between the living and the departed.
Traditional Rituals
The ceremonies usually begin with a purification bath. Offerings commonly include simple vegetarian meals such as rice, lentils, and vegetables prepared for Brahmins.
A key ritual is Tarpan, in which water mixed with sesame seeds is offered while sacred verses are recited. Alongside this, donations of food and clothes, and feeding animals such as cows, dogs and crows, are considered highly auspicious acts.
Across India, this occasion is observed with certain variations.
