MAHALAYA TARPANA DAY - SEQUENCE AS PER SHASTRAS
Namo Namah
Mahalaya Paksham (Pitru Paksha) is a time in which our Pitrus descend from Pitru loka to earth to visit their children. Pitrus desire offering in the form of Shrarddha / Tarpana from them. Since our deceased father, grandfather, mother, grandmother etc have been instrumental in our being on the earth and have taken care of us from childhood to adult age, feeding us and taking care of us day and night, it is a once in a year opportunity for us to satisfy them with utmost Shraddha and Bhakti by offering them Shraddham or Tarpana. The word “tarpana” itself means the one which brings “tripti” (satisfaction) to our deceased ancestors.
Shastras says that as soon as Mahalaya or Pitru Paksha starts, our deceased parents/ ancestors wait outside our house door to see if someone does Tarpana for them or not. They come to earth with full confidence that my children will offer me at least Tarpana as I have raised them taking care of their every single need throughout their childhood and even adulthood. It is a time to pay back our deceased parents and show our affection towards them and satisfy them through Shraddha / tarpana.
The sequence of activities you should do if you decide to do tarpana on all days of Mahalaya or even a single day of Mahalaya Paksham are listed below:
1. After waking up in morning and finishing morning bath, first perform Pratah Sandhyavandana. It is very important to perform Pratah Sandhyavandana as it brings in you, the required purity to perform not only Mahalaya but any Vedic anushtana.
Note that Sandhyavandana is a Nitya karma (compulsory daily duty, not only for Mahalaya) for all who have undergone Upanayana. Without performing Sandhyavandana, we don’t get the necessary level of purity to perform any karma or receive the phala (benefit) of doing any Vedic karma. Sandhyavandhana elevates us to the platform of eligibility to perform the karmas.
2. During Mahalaya Paksha until tarpana is over, no rangoli (Kolam) outside the house should be put or lamp should be lit or pooja should be done. Pitru karma takes precedence over Deva karma. Once tarpana is over at home, then Deva karyas can begin. This rule is for the day/days when you are going to perform Mahalaya tarpana / Hiranya shraddha
3. You should then preferably wait till 10:30am on this day and then perform Madhyanikam. If you are an office goer in the early morning, then you have need to pre-pone this as per your schedule. Madhyanika Sandhyavandana is an important precursor to Mahalaya Tarpana.
4. Once Madhyanikam is over, you should have a second bath (this second bath is for one extra level of purity to perform the tarpana).
5. Shastra says that after you perform this second purificatory bath post Madhyanikam for the tarpana, don’t waste time and immediately change clothes (you cannot wear already worn morning clothes again) and perform tarpana. We don’t apply Vibhooti before tarpana for this reason, but once tarpana is over we apply it. But in some sampradaya (family tradition) they apply vibhooti and do the Tarpana. So the best option is to follow our Kulachara or the tradition we have been following.
6. So after this second bath post madhyanikam, we perform Mahalaya Shraddham / tarpana. If we are going to do 15/16 days of continuous Mahalaya tarpana or 1 day Hiranya Shraddha followed by tarpana, in both cases the same procedure is applicable.
7. Once you finish tarpana then you apply vibhooti. You can ask you wife to put kolam (rangoli) outside our house and light lamp in the Pooja room while you get ready for the next step.
8. After this you perform Brahmayagna in which you chant lines from all 4 vedas and then offer a tarpana for Devatas, Rishis and Pitrus. This is also a Nityakarma.
9. Once this is over, now you have perform your Deva Pooja or Nitya pooja and then have the first meal of the day. From morning until tarpana is done, you should be fasting.
10. Elderly and sick people who still are keen to perform Mahalaya anushtana / tarpana due to health reasons who cannot fast, then a glass of milk or a fruit to sustain should be fine and will not cause dosha. But the idea here is that, before feeding your Pitrus who are anxiously waiting for water and tila (black sesame seeds), you shouldn’t eat. For many days in your childhood, they would have first fed you and then they must have had meals after that at the ebd
11. If you cannot perform Tarpana on all days of Mahalaya, at least on 1 day you should perform Hiranya Shraddha by calling 5-6 priests at home and do Mahalaya Hiranya shraddha and tarpana to satisfy your pitrus.
12. What about ladies? Can they do Mahalaya Shraddha in case she doesn’t have any brother? If a couple has a girl child only with no sons, even then this daughter can do Mahalaya Hiranya Shraddha for her deceased parents (mother and father) for a single day. If this girl’s mother is alive then she should do for the husband not this girl. Single day Hiranya Shraddham calling 5-6 pandits / vadhyars can be done by ladies by giving adhikara (rights) to the Vadhyar / Pandits to perform on her behalf.
Lord Yama tells your deceased parents before sending them to earth, you will actually come to know how your children’s attitude towards you is, during this Mahalaya. When your child was young, you fed them with your hands keeping him in your lap without bothering about your hunger. During this Mahalaya you will come to know how much they bother about you and your hunger and thirst when you are seeking at least 1 day of Shraddha or Tarpana.
Some people may argue what if my parents are re-born again ? What is the guarantee that they are still in Pitruloka? Shastras say that even if your parents were born elsewhere by now, as either a human or an animal or an insect, depending on their punyas and papas, during this Mahalaya the Tarpana that you offer will serve as a special meal for them on that day when you do it.
Many people suffer from Pitru dosha which comes due to non-performance of such Pitru karyas. Mahalaya is a compulsory ritual which each person should do as a responsible child for their deceased parents & ancestors.
Glossary:
Pitrus - our deceased parents / ancestors
Pitru loka or Yamapuri - which is under the control of Lord Yama
Shrarddha / Tarpana - oblations of water and tila-sesame seeds