Sora Shraddha, also known as Pitri Paksha, the 16 day period in the Hindu lunar calendar dedicated to honoring one's ancestors begins today. Today marks the start o Ashwin Krishna Paksha i.e. the dark lunar fortnight of the month of Ashwin.
Falling every year in the run up to Dashain, Nepal's largest festival, Sora Shraddha is one of the most widely observed traditions in the Sanatan calendar; a period when families are expected to pause and formally remember those who came before them through specificc daily rituals tied to each person's own family lineage.
According to the calendar approved by the Nepal Panchang Nirnayak Bikas Samiti- today, the first day of Sora Shraddha is Pratipada tithi .
Sora Shraddha runs every year from the Ashwin Krishna Pratipada through the Ashwin Krishna Aunsi that is from the first day of the dark lunar fortnight to the new moon day to follow. During this period, people are expected to perform tarpan which is the ritual water offerings , sidha daan which is the offerings of raw food items and pind daan the rice ball offerings in honor of their deceased ancestors, with each person doing the ritual is expected to perform the ritual specifically on the lunar date (tithi) corresponding to the ancestor's date of death within the 16 day window rather than on any day of their choosing.
Offerings to the ancestors
1) Tarpan (तर्पण) the water offering: Tarpan is the act of offering sacred water in the name of one's ancestors. It's performed using a specific combination of materials: pure/sacred water, kush (a type of sacred grass), barley (जौ), sesame seeds (तिल), flowers, and sandalwood (चन्दन). These items are mixed with the water and offered facing south the direction traditionally associated with the ancestral realm in Hindu cosmology.
2. Pind Daan (पिण्डदान) the rice ball offering: Pind daan involves preparing small balls (pind) traditionally made from milk, rice and kheer (rice pudding), which are then formally offered to the ancestors under the guidance of a family priest (पुरोहित), following prescribed religious procedure. This is considered the most central ritual act of the shraddha , a direct offering of food to nourish the ancestors in the afterlife.
3. Sidha Daan (सिदादान) the raw food donation: Alongside tarpan and pind daan, families also give sidha daan, a donation of raw, uncooked food items (such as rice, lentils, salt, spices, ghee) typically given to a Brahmin priest or someone performing the ritual on the family's behalf, as an act of charity connected to the ancestor's memory.
How are the rituals performed?
The day before shraddha, the person eats only one meal (एक छाक) as a form of restraint; on the day of shraddha itself, they eat "havishya" food a simple, ritually pure diet, typically excluding items like onion, garlic, and certain spices, consistent with practices observed during religious fasting periods; and over the course of the day, tarpan and pind daan are performed first, with food served to others only afterward typically close relatives and friends, daughters and their families (छोरी–चेली), sons-in-law (ज्वाइँ), nephews (भान्जा), and the family priest (पुरोहित) as part of the ritual's completion.
The tradition does leave room for exception for skipping the shraddha in cases of birth related and death related impurity within the family or when the wife of the person performing the ritual is menstruating. In such cases, it is considered inappropriate to perform such rituals and can instead be performed anytime between Ashwin Krishna Aunsi and Ashwin Shukla Panchami.
Sora Shraddha is rooted in Vedic Sanatan Hindu tradition which holds the belief that ancestors should be remembered with devotion before major festivals, yagyas or significant undertakings. According to religious belief, it is thought that pitri(ancestors) wait expectantly for this period each year and that performing the rituals fulfills the alive generation's sense of duty toward them while freeing ownself from pitri rin which is the spiritual debt one owes to their ancestors.
The timing of the Sora Shraddha falling in the weeks immediately before Dashain reflects a broader cultural pattern in the Hindu calendar: honoring the past before celebrating the present.
