Śrāddha (or Shradda; Sanskrit: श्राद्ध) is 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' (Sanskrit: Pitṛs), especially to one's dead parents.[1] 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 the Hindu 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 (Fortnight of ancestors), right before SharadNavaratri in autumn.[2][3][4]
'Śrāddha' means 'confidence, devotion', stemming from Proto-Indo-Iranian*ćraddʰaH- ('believe, have trust in'), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-Europeancompound*ḱred-dʰeh₁- ('to put one's heart into somebody' > 'to believe'). It is cognate with the Latin crēdo ('to entrust, give credence'), the Old Avestanzrazdā- ('devoted, trusting, believing'), or the Old Irishcreitid ('believe').[5][6]
Rituals
A mass Pinda Pradaana is being done at the Jagannath Ghat, Kolkata, at end of the Pitru Paksha
In practice, the karta (person who performs the Śrāddha) (1) invites Brahmanas (priests) that day, invokes in them the divinity of his/her parent, worships and feeds them (2) performs a homa (fire ritual), appeasing Agni and Soma – the deities who transmit the offerings to the ancestors, nourish and protect them and (3) offers balls of rice to the departed souls ("pinda pradaana", offered to the Pitṛs, the ancestral spirits).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" (fees) to the brahmanaas. (There are various other actions done to show respect to the Brahmanaas, like washing their feet etc. during the course of shraaddha). Crows are also revered in Hinduism and during Śrāddha the practice of offering food or pinda to crows is still in vogue.[7]
Since this is one of the more important and noble "Saṃskāras" (rituals meant to cleanse the mind and soul) that the Hindu sages have envisaged, it is imperative that the performer of the ritual[8] understands what he or she is doing.[9] 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.
After death, the family performs the final riruals and holam. These rites are a reflection of a person’s life. They may also include Santhi-homam and Agni-homam. After the Santhi-homam, the body is sprinkled with Holy Water to cleanse it. Other rituals include offering food and applying herbs to the body. The Havan is performed in order to appease the God of Fire, Agni. During the homam, verses are recited while the performer asks the god to forgive the deceased’s mistakes and sins.[10]
The Śrāddha period
The scripture mandate performing 96 Śrāddha 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 ( ending with amavasya ), second half of the month Bhadrapada is called Pitru Paksha: Pitṛpakṣa or Śrāddha pakṣa and its amavasya ( new moon ) is called sarvapitri amavasya. This part is considered inauspicious in muhurtaśāstra (electional astrology). At this time (generally September) crops in India and Nepal are ready and the produce is offered as a mark of respect and gratitude (by way of pinda) first to the ancestors be they parents or forefathers before other festivals like Navaratri begin.
Shraaddha Chandrika (english) by mundodu narayana bhat, viraja, hayagreeva nagara udupi 576 102
January 21, 2023
Śrāddha, confused, with, Śraddhā, shradda, sanskrit, that, performed, with, sincerity, absolute, faith, hindu, religion, ritual, that, performs, homage, ancestors, sanskrit, pitṛs, especially, dead, parents, conceptually, people, express, heartfelt, gratitude,. Not to be confused with Sraddha Sraddha or Shradda Sanskrit श र द ध is 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 Sanskrit Pitṛs especially to one s dead parents 1 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 the Hindu Calendar In addition it is performed for the entire community of pitr both from paternal and maternal side collectively during the Pitru Paksha or Shraaddha paksha Fortnight of ancestors right before Sharad Navaratri in autumn 2 3 4 Ongoing rituals of Sraddha in a Bengali family Contents 1 Etymology 2 Rituals 3 The Sraddha period 4 See also 5 References 6 Further readingEtymology Edit Sraddha means confidence devotion stemming from Proto Indo Iranian craddʰaH believe have trust in ultimately from the Proto Indo European compound ḱred dʰeh to put one s heart into somebody gt to believe It is cognate with the Latin credo to entrust give credence the Old Avestan zrazda devoted trusting believing or the Old Irish creitid believe 5 6 Rituals Edit A mass Pinda Pradaana is being done at the Jagannath Ghat Kolkata at end of the Pitru Paksha In practice the karta person who performs the Sraddha 1 invites Brahmanas priests that day invokes in them the divinity of his her parent worships and feeds them 2 performs a homa fire ritual appeasing Agni and Soma the deities who transmit the offerings to the ancestors nourish and protect them and 3 offers balls of rice to the departed souls pinda pradaana offered to the Pitṛs the ancestral spirits 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 fees to the brahmanaas There are various other actions done to show respect to the Brahmanaas like washing their feet etc during the course of shraaddha Crows are also revered in Hinduism and during Sraddha the practice of offering food or pinda to crows is still in vogue 7 Since this is one of the more important and noble Saṃskaras rituals meant to cleanse the mind and soul that the Hindu sages have envisaged it is imperative that the performer of the ritual 8 understands what he or she is doing 9 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 After death the family performs the final riruals and holam These rites are a reflection of a person s life They may also include Santhi homam and Agni homam After the Santhi homam the body is sprinkled with Holy Water to cleanse it Other rituals include offering food and applying herbs to the body The Havan is performed in order to appease the God of Fire Agni During the homam verses are recited while the performer asks the god to forgive the deceased s mistakes and sins 10 The Sraddha period EditThe scripture mandate performing 96 Sraddha 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 ending with amavasya second half of the month Bhadrapada is called Pitru Paksha Pitṛpakṣa or Sraddha pakṣa and its amavasya new moon is called sarvapitri amavasya This part is considered inauspicious in muhurtasastra electional astrology At this time generally September crops in India and Nepal are ready and the produce is offered as a mark of respect and gratitude by way of pinda first to the ancestors be they parents or forefathers before other festivals like Navaratri begin Many people visit Hindu pilgrimage sites to perform Sraddha ceremonies like Pehowa Kurukshetra Haridwar Gokarna Nashik Gaya etc Haridwar is also known for its Hindu genealogy registers See also EditAntyesti Brahmin Hindu genealogy registers at Chintpurni Himachal Pradesh Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar Hindu genealogy registers at Jawalamukhi Himachal Pradesh Hindu genealogy registers at Kurukshetra Haryana Hindu genealogy registers at Peohwa Haryana Hindu genealogy registers at Trimbakeshwar Maharashtra Hindu genealogy registers at Varanasi Pitrs Sandhyavandhanam Vedic priesthood Sraddha Buddhadharma References Edit Shradh Puja Five Facts you should Know about Death Anniversary Ritual In Hinduism NewsGram 4 September 2017 Prasad R C 1995 Sraddha The Hindu Book of the Dead Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 8120811925 Mittal Sushil Thursby Gene eds 2004 Hindu World Routledge Worlds ISBN 1134608756 Lipner Julius 2012 Hindus Their Religious Beliefs and Practices 2 ed Routledge p 267 ISBN 978 1135240608 Benveniste Emile 1969 Dictionary of Indo European Concepts and Society 2016 ed Hau Books pp 134 135 ISBN 978 0986132599 Lubotsky Alexander Indo Aryan Inherited Lexicon Indo European Etymological Dictionary Project Leiden University See entry Sraddha online database It s a crow s day The Hindu 2001 07 26 Archived from the original on 2016 04 12 shraddha paksha jaibhole co in How does the Shraddha ritual benefit descendants Spiritual Science Research Foundation Retrieved 20 September 2020 SDRPSS iyer purowithal services in chennai 2022 04 10 Retrieved 2022 07 01 Further reading EditShraaddha R K Srikanta Kumaraswamy IIT Chennai In the Kannada language ಆಶ ವಲ ಯನ ಪ ರ ವಣ ಶ ರ ದ ಧ ಚ ದ ರ ಕ Kannada language by mundodu narayana bhatta hayagreeva nagara udupi 576 102 Shraaddha Chandrika english by mundodu narayana bhat viraja hayagreeva nagara udupi 576 102 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sraddha amp oldid 1110486028, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
