Pitru Paksha Begins: Thursday, 16 September 2027. Pratipada tithi in New Delhi: 16 Sept, 04:34 – 17 Sept, 05:52 IST.
Timings in New Delhi
- Pratipada tithi
- 16 Sept, 04:34 – 17 Sept, 05:52
How we calculate this
- Computed with Swiss Ephemeris (Lahiri) from each city's own sunrise and sunset. Other almanacs can differ by a minute or two.
Pitru Paksha Begins (पितृ पक्ष आरंभ) is a tithi-based observance falling in the Hindu lunar month of आश्विन. Its position is fixed by tithi rather than by the Gregorian calendar, so the date moves every year and is computed from the panchang. No fast is prescribed for the day.
Pitru Paksha Begins
पितृ पक्ष आरंभ
Hindu month: आश्विन
Panchang Basis (Tithi Rule)
Ashvina Krishna Pratipada fixes the day, so the English date moves each year.
Amanta panchangs (Maharashtra, Gujarat, South India) call this fortnight Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha; the date is the same.
About This Festival
The opening day of the sixteen-day fortnight of the ancestors — from Purnima shraddh onward, families perform daily tarpan, pind-daan on the ancestor's tithi, and feed brahmins, crows, and cows in the pitrs' name.
सोलह दिवसीय पितृ पक्ष का आरंभ — इस पखवाड़े में प्रतिदिन तर्पण, पूर्वज की तिथि पर पिंडदान और पितरों के नाम पर ब्राह्मण, कौए व गाय को भोजन कराया जाता है।
Significance
For this fortnight the pitrs are believed to visit their descendants, receiving the water and food offered in shraddh. Honouring them is the direct remedy for Pitra Dosh — the ancestral affliction Jyotish links to recurring obstacles, delayed santaan, and family discord — which is why tirthas like Gaya, Prayag, and Siddhpur overflow with pind-daan pilgrims now. New purchases, vivah, and shubh muhurats pause; the fortnight belongs to gratitude and runa-mukti (release from ancestral debt), closing on Sarva Pitru Amavasya when all forgotten ancestors are fed together.
Puja Vidhi (How to Observe)
Each morning after snan, offer tarpan facing south — water poured with black til and kusha grass — naming the three preceding generations. On the ancestor's own tithi within the fortnight, perform the fuller shraddh: pind-daan of rice, til, and ghee, panch-bali portions for crow, cow, dog, ant, and deva, then brahmin bhojan with dakshina. Keep food sattvik and the household conduct restrained through the fortnight. Those unable to perform daily rites may do a single shraddh on Sarva Pitru Amavasya.
Regional Names
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Pitru Paksha Begins celebrated?
Pitru Paksha Begins falls on Sunday, 27 September 2026 and on Thursday, 16 September 2027.
Is Pitru Paksha Begins a fasting (vrat) day?
No, no fast is prescribed for Pitru Paksha Begins.
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