Pithru pooja -
Sraaddha
Among the Hindus, the sradda is religious ceremony,
often performed annually, in propitiation of there departed
ancestors who are technically known as pitrus, the word sraddda,
according to sage pulastya, is derived as follows:
"sradhaya deyathe yasmath sraddam
ithyabhidheeyathee: i.e., that which is performed with
great faith.
The faith referred to here is the faith in the
Vedas, whose dictates are taken as incontrovertible and which enjoin
its performance as a duty. It is interesting to note that sraddha or
faith, and medha or intelligence, are actually deified in the
Vedas. Among the important items of a sradha are the argya
(water libation): Havana (fire-offering), the feeding of Brahmins,
pinda dana, vikira, dakshina-offering and tarpana. Holy Brahmins are
fed in a worshipful manner, after invoking of them the souls of the
departed ancestors of three generations identified with vasu, rudra
and adithya, on the paternal or maternal side, as the case may be.
The pitrus, who live in pitru loka in the form of spirits, are
fetched into the sradda venue by the vishvedevas or the universal
soul.The darbha or kusa grass and til sesamum are two significant
materials used in the performance of sradda. The padmapurana states
that the kusa grass and black til sprang from the body of Vishnu.
Aswalayana gruhya sutra points out that the essence of waters became
darbha, alluding to a Vedic story. Since Vishnu in anathema to evil
spirits, the use of til prevents sradda offering from being pilfered
by them. Use of kusa, being the essence of all holy waters, makes
the whole rite holy. Silver vessels for argya and pinda in sraddaa
are highly recommended because, the ancient pitrus milked
svadha in a silver vessel and they are highly pleased with the
sight, use and gift of such vessels. The sraddha became an important
limb of Hindu religious life.
The how of it Question often
asked about the sradda as we perform it today is this; how, by
feeding some Brahmins here and now, one expects to feed ones
ancestors who are dead long since, and possibly, according to the
karma theory, live in other forms and climes. The answer to this
question is given in the matsya purana; what we do in our sradda is
to invoke the souls of the departed ancestors on the venue of the
sradda by viswedevas or or the universal spirit. Thus for practical
purposes, the spiritual bodies or souls of our ancestors, identified
with vasu, rudra, and adithyas who are the sradda deities, are
present, and we worship them. Now, the food the Brahmins eat or the
oblations one offers in the sacrificial fire uttering the deportees
name and gotra during the sradda is transformed by the mantra and
faith into food appropriate for current bodies of the celestial
messenger, agni, (the god of fire) or the vasus, rudras, etc, who
have access everywhere and gratify the pitrus. If, for instance, the
ancestor had been born an angle, the oblation goes to him as nectar;
if he be born as cattle, it is taken to him as grass; or if born as
human, it goes to him as cereals, just as a calf finds its own
mother from the money cows grazing, so the mantras uttered in the
sradda ceremony carry the food to the correct pitrus,The
pitrudevathas, after completion of the sradda and gratified by the
worship, bless the performer with health, wealth, children and
prosperity and prosperity and depart to their own region. Whatever
the religious merit or otherwise of sradda. It has this
psychological merit, namely, it definitely helps us recall with
affection and gratitude the memory of our elders and benefactors,
which is an ennobling experience. Secondly, it is a
demonstrable fact that faith works miracles. When that is the case
with ordinary faith. What shall we say of a faith such as the
sradda, which has been a racial memory in the sense that it is the
continuous possession of successive generations of Hindus since the
Vedic times! It must work greater miracles.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SHRAADH Hindu
mythology is rich in its legacies and traditions. Of the many rites,
rituals, festivals and ceremonies, Shraadhs appear to be quite
different. Shraadhs constitute 'a debt of the dead'
which ought to be repaid assuming the dead ones as being alive and
living with us.
During this period called pitru paksha, the lord of
death, Yama raja enables all who shed their mortal frames to come
back to earth and receive offerings from their descendants. For
ages, it has been associated with such offerings being made to the
dead christened pretas (spirits) and pitrus
(forfathers).
It is believed that one owes three main debts.
First its Devarina (debt to the gods), second is
Rishi rina (debt to the guru) and the last but, not the least is the
Pitra rina (debt to the forefathers). It is
ordained that one must pay off these debts with utmost humility and
respect.
During the fortnight of the Aashwin month, Hindus
offer ablation to their ancestors, While most people observe
shraadhs at their places, the more devout of them prefer to perform
the rites at the designated holy places but Gaya in Bihar (India) is
considered the holiest. A pinda daan is supposed to liberate all
souls from the control of Yama and help them attain moksha.
Gaya derives its name from al demon called
gayasura. Legend has it that after a severe penance demon Gayasura
pleased Vishnu and was granted a boon that whoever would touch him
will be allowed a place in heaven. This angered other Gods and they
hatched a conspiracy.
One day when the demon sat for worship on the banks
of river Phalgu, the Gods not only put a stone over his head to
render him immobile but even persuaded Vishnu to put his feet on the
stone.
On seeing Vishnu, Gayasura asked for another boon.
He stretched his body to four yojans (approximately 32 miles) and
requested that the place be named after him.
At Gaya there are as many as 45 sacred Vedic where
shraadhs are performed. In ancient times, Gaya was a holy place for
offering obseuies for merits of parents and was divided into two
distinct areas, dharamanya and dharmaprastha. In dharamanya were
contained the Aswatha tree near Phalgu. Buddha Gaya was the place
where pinda is offered by the Hindus from all over India, as par of
the Shraadh rites. There is also the Sita Kunda where lord Rama,
accompanied by Lakshmana and Sita, is believed to have performed the
shraadh of his father, Dasrath.
Shraadhs seem to be the outcome of the Karma theory
to which all Hindus subscribe to rather fruitfully and maintains
relationship till eternity. Like King Mahabali who visits Kerala
during the Onam celebrations to prepetuate the ties for ever
onwards, so the shraadhs seem to build bridges between the living
and the dead.
Gone are the days when shraadhs were observed in a
spirit of true indebtedness. The Brahmins were invited, served with
rice meal and a hefty dakshina amid puja recitations but now not
many even know what shraadh mean to us. Not even the Pandits accept
the invitation with pleasure which indeed is unfortunate, because
our values are being squandered away.
Little wonder then, that even devouts of other
religions pay their respects to their ancestors by remembering them
on the birth and death anniversaries and by raising memorials and
offering flowers at the graves. Christians, Muslims and Boudhs all
observe the ritual. The example of the world famous Taj Mahal at
Agra can also be assumed to be something akin to a shraadh.
The Chinese, Japanese and some other Asian partners
honour their ancestors in much the same sense of gratitude and
remembrance.
While there are lots of people whose descendants
remember and honour their ancestors, there may be millions who die n
harness. Hindu religion even remembers those who die in wars and
other natural calamities, even the unseen and unheard of insects and
other creatures and upholds the highest celestial standards.
Funny though it may seem, the shraadh code of
conduct provides for observance of a shraadh in one's own life time
at Gaya. Should one, therefore, anticipate, a situation that there
is no one after him to perform the pinda-dan rite, he could go ahead
to have one done for himself for mutual peace and propensity.
It is believed that one owes three main debts.
First its Devarina (debt to the gods), second is Rishi rina (debt to
the guru) and the last but, not the least is the Pitra rina (debt to
the forefathers). It is ordained that one must pay off these debts
with utmost humility and respect.
During the fortnight of the Aashwin month, Hindus
offer ablation to their ancestors, While most people observe
shraadhs at their places, the more devout of them prefer to perform
the rites at the designated holy places but Gaya in Bihar (India) is
considered the holiest. A pinda daan is supposed to liberate all
souls from the control of Yama and help them attain moksha.
Gaya derives its name from al demon called
gayasura. Legend has it that after a severe penance demon Gayasura
pleased Vishnu and was granted a boon that whoever would touch him
will be allowed a place in heaven. This angered other Gods and they
hatched a conspiracy.
One day when the demon sat for worship on the banks
of river Phalgu, the Gods not only put a stone over his head to
render him immobile but even persuaded Vishnu to put his feet on the
stone.
On seeing Vishnu, Gayasura asked for another boon.
He stretched his body to four yojans (approximately 32 miles) and
requested that the place be named after him.
At Gaya there are as many as 45 sacred Vedic where
shraadhs are performed. In ancient times, Gaya was a holy place for
offering obseuies for merits of parents and was divided into two
distinct areas, dharamanya and dharmaprastha. In dharamanya were
contained the Aswatha tree near Phalgu. Buddha Gaya was the place
where pinda is offered by the Hindus from all over India, as par of
the Shraadh rites. There is also the Sita Kunda where lord Rama,
accompanied by Lakshmana and Sita, is believed to have performed the
shraadh of his father, Dasrath.
Shraadhs seem to be the outcome of the Karma theory
to which all Hindus subscribe to rather fruitfully and maintains
relationship till eternity. Like King Mahabali who visits Kerala
during the Onam celebrations to prepetuate the ties for ever
onwards, so the shraadhs seem to build bridges between the living
and the dead.
Gone are the days when shraadhs were observed in a
spirit of true indebtedness. The Brahmins were invited, served with
rice meal and a hefty dakshina amid puja recitations but now not
many even know what shraadh mean to us. Not even the Pandits accept
the invitation with pleasure which indeed is unfortunate, because
our values are being squandered away.
Little wonder then, that even devouts of other
religions pay their respects to their ancestors by remembering them
on the birth and death anniversaries and by raising memorials and
offering flowers at the graves. Christians, Muslims and Boudhs all
observe the ritual. The example of the world famous Taj Mahal at
Agra can also be assumed to be something akin to a shraadh.
The Chinese, Japanese and some other Asian partners
honour their ancestors in much the same sense of gratitude and
remembrance.
While there are lots of people whose descendants
remember and honour their ancestors, there may be millions who die n
harness. Hindu religion even remembers those who die in wars and
other natural calamities, even the unseen and unheard of insects and
other creatures and upholds the highest celestial standards.
Funny though it may seem, the shraadh code of
conduct provides for observance of a shraadh in one's own life time
at Gaya. Should one, therefore, anticipate, a situation that there
is no one after him to perform the pinda-dan rite, he could go ahead
to have one done for himself for mutual peace and
propensity. |