Once a year, for fifteen lunar days, Hindu tradition opens a door between the living and the dead. From Seattle to Singapore, we help NRI families walk through it — with rites performed vidhivat at India’s most revered riverbanks.
A complimentary 30-minute orientation call before every first-time booking. No prior knowledge needed — we’ll explain everything.
Find your path →If you are new to the tradition, or returning to it after a long time away — this is where to start. Four ideas, in order, that form the whole.
Pitrupaksha falls in the Krishna Paksha (waning moon) of the Bhadrapada month in the Hindu lunar calendar. It begins on the full moon and ends on the new moon — a natural darkening of the sky that mirrors the turning of our attention from the living to those who came before.
In the Garuda Purana it is said that during this fortnight the gates of Pitru-loka — the realm of ancestors — open. For sixteen days, the spirits of our forebears are said to descend to the earth, hoping that someone among their living descendants remembers them.
The response expected of us is simple, ancient, and universal: we offer food. Rice mixed with ghee, til and honey, shaped by hand into balls called pinda — each named for an ancestor and placed on kusha grass at the edge of a sacred river.
This is not a funeral rite, nor prayer for the dead. It is nourishment — the belief that our ancestors, in their subtle bodies, still hunger for acknowledgement. To feed them is to say: we have not forgotten. The thread has not broken.
Each cell holds the day's significance. The moon, above each, shows the waning cycle from full to new — the sky darkens as the fortnight deepens.
Long before the age of men, there lived an asura named Gaya. Though born of the race of demons, his heart was turned toward devotion. He performed such severe austerities in the forests of what is now Bihar that even the gods grew anxious.
When at last Brahma appeared before Gaya and asked what he desired, the asura asked for only one thing: that his body become the holiest ground on earth — that any soul who died upon him, or whose name was spoken in rite upon him, be freed forever from rebirth.
But the gods panicked. If every soul that fell upon Gaya went straight to moksha, then hell would empty, heaven would overflow, and the wheel of karma itself would seize. Lord Vishnu — ever the diplomat — devised a plan.
Vishnu asked Gaya to lie down, saying a great yajna would be performed upon his still form. Gaya consented, and a stone was placed upon his chest to hold him. The gods pressed down, and down, and down — until Gaya, at last, passed from life, his body stretching out to form the sacred geography that bears his name to this day.
But the boon could not be rescinded. And so today — three thousand years later, or thirty thousand, no one knows — Gaya's body still lies beneath the city. The Phalgu river is his vein. Mangla Gauri temple marks his heart. Pretshila hill is his forehead. And when a son speaks his father's name at Vishnupad, he speaks it directly into the body of the asura who once asked only this: that others be freed through him.
No Sanskrit required. Six ideas that, once understood, unlock most of what follows.
The ancestors — specifically the deceased of one's own lineage, up to three generations past (father, grandfather, great-grandfather and their wives).
In Hindu cosmology, Pitrus inhabit Pitru-loka, a subtle plane distinct from heaven and earth. They retain a connection to their living descendants and are nourished by the offerings made in their name.
"Our pitrus watch over us, but they cannot speak — only wait to be remembered."
A fortnight — one half of a lunar month. Each lunar month is divided into Shukla Paksha (waxing) and Krishna Paksha (waning).
The word literally means "wing" or "side" — the two sides of the moon's cycle. Pitrupaksha always falls in Krishna Paksha, as the darkening moon mirrors our descent into remembrance.
"Shukla Paksha is for creation, Krishna Paksha is for return."
The complete ritual of honoring ancestors, performed with food offerings, mantras, and the feeding of brahmins and animals. Distinct from pind daan, which is one part of it.
Shradh is traditionally performed annually on the tithi (lunar day) of the ancestor's passing, and collectively during Pitrupaksha. The word itself means "that which is done with faith" — without faith, the rite is considered empty.
"No mantra, however perfect, can replace the śraddhā with which it is offered."
The offering of water — mixed with sesame (til) and barley — poured through the fingers while calling the names of ancestors.
Tarpan is traditionally performed daily by those who have lost parents, not only during Pitrupaksha. It is a lighter rite than shradh, taking fifteen to forty-five minutes, and can be done at any riverbank, pond, or even a home altar with a small vessel.
"A single drop of water, offered with intention, reaches a thousand generations."
Literally "a rounded mass." In the context of pind daan, a ball of cooked rice mixed with ghee, til, honey, and barley, shaped by hand.
Each pinda represents one ancestor, and is placed on a bed of kusha grass at the riverbank. The pinda is not merely food — it is considered a temporary body offered to the ancestor for the duration of the rite.
"The pinda is a body given, so that the body can be released."
A patrilineal clan identifier naming the rishi (sage) from whom one's lineage descends. Common gotras include Bharadwaj, Vashishta, Kashyap, Gautam.
The gotra is invoked at the start of every Hindu rite — it is the address at which the ritual is delivered. If you do not know your gotra, your coordinator can help you trace it, or "Kashyap" (the widest gotra) is used as a default.
"Ask your oldest living relative — the gotra is often remembered even when nothing else is."
Each ritual has its own purpose, its own moment, its own scriptural source. Each suits a different situation. Explore below.
Rice, mixed with ghee, honey, til and barley, shaped by hand and offered on the banks of a sacred river, each ball named for an ancestor. The single rite most enjoined by scripture for the peace of the departed.
The daily offering of water to ancestors — performed at sunrise with darbha grass, til, and a brass vessel. Less elaborate than Pind Daan but performed more frequently, especially during the fortnight.
Performed once a year on the tithi of an ancestor's passing. Can be done at any sacred site or near your own home — we coordinate with pandits at all nine cities year-round, not just during the fortnight.
Performed when ancestors have been neglected for three generations or when a family suspects pitrudosh. Three separate pindas for three classes of preta, offered only at specific sites — most authentically at Trimbakeshwar.
Every element has a name, a purpose, a scripture behind it. Hover the markers below to see what you'd be looking at if you were there.
A specific wild grass (Desmostachya bipinnata) considered sacred. Its sharp tips are said to pierce subtle realms, making it the bridge between this world and the ancestral plane. Woven into rings worn on the ring finger during rite.
Rice cooked with ghee, sesame, honey and barley, hand-shaped into balls. One for each named ancestor. The pinda is the ancestor's temporary body for the duration of the offering.
Black sesame seeds and water. The defining fluid of ancestral rites. Sesame represents the seed of lineage; water carries intention across planes. Poured through the fingers, never the palm.
The round water-pot, often of copper. Used to carry river water used in every phase of the rite. Traditionally never set down on bare ground — always on kusha grass or a cloth.
A specific compass orientation is followed: the officiant sits facing south (direction of Yama, god of departure). Offerings are placed in a specific order around them. The universe is addressed from a specific co-ordinate.
Every rite we perform is rooted in named, traceable text. Nothing is improvised. Here are the sources — open any to see what it says.
The primary scripture on death rites. Composed as a dialogue between Lord Vishnu and his eagle-mount Garuda, it describes the journey of the soul after death and the rites that ease its passage.
The Garuda Purana is the single most cited source for pitrupaksha rites and is traditionally read aloud in the home for thirteen days after a death.
The earliest scripture to specify Gaya as the supreme site for ancestral rites. Contains the story of Gayasura, the asura whose body became the sacred geography of the city.
Names seven sites within Gaya where pind daan may be performed, each corresponding to a different kind of ancestor.
In the great epic, Bhishma — lying on his bed of arrows — explains the laws of shradh to Yudhishthira in exhaustive detail. This forms the doctrinal core.
Specifies which foods are acceptable, which tithis are most powerful, and the primacy of intention (śraddhā) over correctness of ritual.
The legal code of Manu provides the most detailed procedural guidance — what kusha, what fire, what vessels, what direction, in what order.
Explicitly extends the rite to the maternal line as well, a detail often forgotten: we honor not just fathers, but mothers, maternal grandfathers, and maternal grandmothers.
The story of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana performing shradh for King Dasharatha at Gaya — the most famous instance of pind daan in Hindu narrative.
Sita's pinda of sand, and her subsequent curses upon the Phalgu, the banyan, the cow and the brahmin, are a foundational narrative of Gaya's geography.
The Ganga and her tributaries carry more than water — they carry meaning. Each city below sits on a river that, scripturally, opens a different door.
Mentioned by name in the Garuda Purana, Vayu Purana, and Mahabharata as the foremost site for ancestor rites. The Phalgu flows beneath the sand; the Vishnupad bears Vishnu's footprint.
The oldest living city, and the one city where moksha is promised by dying at its ghats. Every shradh rite is performed here year-round, most elaborately at Manikarnika and Harishchandra.
Tirtharaj — "king of tirthas." The meeting of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati. Shradh here at Sangam is particularly enjoined for the paternal grandfather line.
One of the seven holy cities. Har-ki-Pauri ghat is a particularly auspicious site for asthi-visarjan and tarpan — especially for those whose ancestors lived in the Himalayan foothills.
The seat of Mahakaleshwar, one of the twelve jyotirlingas. Shradh rites performed on the Shipra are said to have special efficacy for ancestors afflicted by untimely death.
The source of the Godavari. Scripture specifies this as the one site where the three-fold tripindi rite must be performed for ancestors three or more generations past, or for those who died unnatural deaths.
After his return from Lanka, Rama performed Dasharatha's shradh on the Saryu at Swargadwar Ghat. The rite is treated in scripture as foundational — Ayodhya becomes the exemplar of kula-dharma in offerings for the fallen.
Uniquely a shradh-sthala of collective memory — the dead of eighteen armies are remembered here, and the living who mourn find room for their own grief in that vastness.
Temple open May–November only. Shradh at Brahma Kapal is said to reach ancestors across birth-cycles, not merely generations. Altitude acclimatisation and booking six months out are advised.
Each site carries its own scriptural significance. Our pandits are residents of these cities — born, initiated, and practicing there for generations.
The supreme site for Pind Daan
The confluence of three sacred rivers
The city older than history
Gateway to the abode of gods
High in the Garhwal Himalaya
The ancestral city of Lord Rama
Your path depends on your position in the family. Tell us yours, and we'll suggest the right first rite.
Tradition places this responsibility first on you — though it is shared with all descendants.
Begin by learning your father's father's name, and his father's. These three names are the foundation of the sankalpa.
Contrary to older misconceptions, scripture (Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva) explicitly permits daughters to perform all rites.
If you are the only child, the rite is yours. If you have brothers who do not, the rite is still yours. Faith (śraddhā) is what qualifies — not sex.
Especially relevant if your parents are no longer living, or cannot participate.
This rite releases three generations simultaneously and is traditionally done when the direct line has been interrupted.
You are still entitled to these rites. Hinduism is not a closed system; lineage includes all who wish to honor it.
If you do not know your gotra, "Kashyap" is the default used for anyone whose lineage cannot be traced. The rite is complete regardless.
Welcome. The first rite you do is the most important; what follows becomes easier.
We'll schedule a 30-minute orientation call before your rite — explaining what the pandit will do, what words you'll say, what it all means. No prior knowledge needed.
Three from your father's line, three from your mother's. These are the names invoked in every ancestral rite. Most people don't know all six — and this is the first and most important preparation.
Take a moment. If you're not sure — call a relative. This is the exercise.
I had not been to Gaya in thirty-eight years. The last time I went, I was fourteen, and my father dragged me along — I resented it. When my mother died last spring, something turned in me. I knew I had to go back, but I was terrified. I hadn't spoken Malayalam fluently in decades. I didn't remember what my gotra was. I was ashamed to even ask.
The coordinator helped me find it. Kaushik gotra, it turned out. My mother's name I remembered. My grandmother's name, I had to call my aunt in Bangalore for. My great-grandmother — no one remembered. The pandit told me that was alright. "We name who we remember. The ones we've forgotten, they understand."
"The ones we've forgotten, they understand."— SURESH PILLAI
My mother died while I was stuck in London with a sick child. I couldn't go back. I will carry that the rest of my life. When Pitrupaksha came the following year, my brothers in India said they would do the rite. I didn't want to be left out again.
I booked a tarpan to be performed in my name at Haridwar, at the same ghat where my father had performed my grandmother's rites thirty years ago. I watched it on video call at 3am London time. My pandit held up the photograph of my mother so I could see her face while he said her name. I wept. I don't know what I expected — not this.
"I watched at 3am London time. I wept."— MEERA KRISHNAMURTHY
Losing both parents so close together broke us. We didn't know what to do. A family friend in Mumbai suggested tripindi shradh — the rite that releases three generations together — and recommended this platform. I was skeptical. I thought it would feel like e-commerce.
It didn't. The coordinator spent an hour on a call with me, asking about our parents as people, not as data. What were their names. Where were they from. What did they love. When the pandit performed the rite, he spoke their names so clearly — not like a list, but like he was calling out to them across a room. At the end, he said: "They are at peace now. You may rest." I believe him. I rest.
"He spoke their names like he was calling across a room."— AJAY & KAVITA RAO
Everything about dates, procedures, payments and participation. Our coordinators are available 24/7 to answer anything specific to your family.
All FAQs →Pitrupaksha 2026 falls between 26 September and 10 October, during the Krishna Paksha of Bhadrapada in the Hindu lunar calendar. It is a sixteen-day observance that ends on Sarvapitri Amavasya.
Yes. This is the heart of our service. You participate via WhatsApp video call with your pandit, who walks you through the sankalpa, mantras, and offerings in your preferred language — Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Odia, Hindi or English.
Every pooja is recorded end-to-end. Samagri (offering materials) is photographed before the rite. Pandits are verified residents of the sacred site, from lineage families. You receive the full recording, the framed sankalpa parchment, and a GST invoice within 48 hours.
Names of up to three generations of ancestors, your gotra (if known), the tithi or date of passing for the Shradh, and a brief intention. Our coordinator will guide you through this over a 20-minute call before booking.
Yes. During this phase, checkout uses Direct Bank Transfer. Currency selection is a display preference for approximate totals only; WooCommerce shows the final payable store-currency amount at checkout.
The fortnight is considered most auspicious, but the rites can be performed year-round. Tarpan in particular is recommended monthly on Amavasya. Your coordinator will help you choose the right tithi.
“Those who are remembered, live.
Those who are forgotten,
simply wait.”