SRaaDH`DH
THE ETERNAL AND EVERGREEN
EXPRESSION OF
CONTINUITY & GRATEFULNESS
IN CREATION
When
to offer SRaaDH`DH
As per naarD puraaAN the following is the information regarding
the time and occasions of offering SRaaDH`DH:
Every grahastha (householder meaning a married person) should offer
SRaaDH`DH
at the hour called kutap. This time is the eighth muhurat
after sunrise. A muhurat is of 48 minutes duration. Therefore
SRaaDH`DH
should be performed 5 hours and 36 minutes after sunrise. This is the
time granted by brahmaa-dev to pitruo to receive
SRaaDH`DH.SRaaDH`DH
offered to pitruo at the wrong time goes to rakshaso and does not
reach pitruo. In this case of
SRaaDH`DH offered at the wrong time,
the offerer and the partaker of the shraadh bear the fruits of an a-punya
or paapi karma which usually fructifies in hell.(naarD puraaAN 1-28-21 to 25)
The second or vad fortnight of the lunar month of
bhaadarvo-maas is entirely
devoted to offering SRaaDH`DH to
aadi-devo, pitru-devo and pitruo on a
daily basis. aadi-devo are a special class of
devo (gods) who are eternal
and are not affected by the times of pralay.
aadi-devo continually
perfrom sevaa for the well-being and sustenance of all creations from
devo
to a tiny atom. as they exist eternally and before anybody at the time of a
creation cycle aadi-devo are called pitru-devo. A pralay
is re-absorption into brahmaa-dev at the end of 4.32 billion year
creation cycle. The day of SRaaDH`DH offering in this fortnight for one's pitru
is the tithi (date) on which the pitru continued to the next life
journey.
SRaaDH`DH is also offered on the actual day of the death
anniversary of a piTRu.
One shall perform a hospitable greeting to one's father and mother as
SRaaDH`DH once every year. He shall perform
this SRaaDH`DH without reference to
devo and offer one piND (a ball of
rice or a lump of rice offered in SRaaDH`DH)
(naarD puraaAN: 1.24.78).
The ninth day of this
SRaaDH`DH fortnight is called
avidhvaa-navami
when
SRaaDH`DH offering is made to the aatmaa of women who have died before
the death of their husbands. This avidhvaa-navami may also be called a widower's
day on which the aatmaa of the departed wives is adored and
remembered.....in tune with all the other family days we have in current times.
If the widower has a second wife, then this second wife performs pranaan
and namah to the departed wife and inwardly wishes that she may be also
fortunate to die before her husband ........
Other rules, methodology and essence of offering
SRaaDH`DH
and
information on pitru-devo will be offered in other write-ups on this
page..........
(SRii chmpklaal Daajibhaai miisTRii,
the compiler of the above GNaan, convey pranaam to
our guru Dr. G. V. Tagore from whose
English translation of the sanskrit naarad puraan we have been
blessed with the above knowledge of when to offer
SRaaDH`DH to pitruo for fortune of having prosperity with a progeny to continue
our lineage.......the above slok are expanded with explanatory prose to
make our learning and understanding easier...also explanatory prose in included
to give backgrounder ved knowledge to provide supplementary explanation
for increasing the depth of our knowledge of life sciences...... )
.......om namah
brhmah....
....our guru brhmah..
.....om tat sat....om shaanti shaanti....
Posted: September 2002
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