07/09/2025
Hello everyone, from tomorrow Shraddha or Pitrupshsha is starting, so here I am giving a simple, short & sweet ritual that you can do to get blessings og your ancestors.
Anyone can do this whether male or female. I am giving a very simple process derived from many things and which I myself is using since many years. No language, country or religion barrier. However you need to maintain punctuality of time, and do it at same time everyday, and must be done before noon. So if you choose to do at 8 am then do everyday at 8 am for these 15 days. Good thing is that it hardly takes 10-15 minuites, so it is not a thing that one cannot manage.
Process of Simple Pitru Tarpan at home
Items needed:
- Base plate or bowl (copper/brass is preferred)
- Cup or bowl (copper/brass is preferred)
- Water (add few drops of Ganga jal if available to plain tap water)
- Black Sesame seeds (half spoon full for each day)
- Dhruva grass or any grass or leaf if available. Can add flowers or petals too if available
- Copper coin if available or simple coin of smallest size
- Raw milk (spoonfull) if available
- Diya & Dhoop
Process:
- Sit comfortable on an Asan (or clean towel/bedsheet) facing SOUTH direction
- Place the base bowl in front of you, place the water pot on the side
- You can do this in your home except bedroom, in any temple, in your garden etc
- Take Water in the pot, and mix some black sesame seeds, can also add some raw milk (unboiled) if you have
- Before you start, you can mentally prepare yourself by doing pranayan 3 times (inhale & exhale)
- Light Diya & Dhoop, and pray to your Guru and Ishta to help you, guide you and protect you
- Next, you can do Sankalp. Sankalp means holding the intention. Whatever Sankalp, or pray you do during tarpan, you can speak in your natural language. You can speak in Sanskrit or Hindi or English or or whatever you know best (your mother tounge)
- For Sankalp and all other rituals, hold the coin and grass in your palm, and put a spoonful of water from the water pot, and then after saying the Sankalp, let the water flow in the base plate directing through your middle finger
- Sankalp will be as follows
" I, Radha/Shiva (your name), Son of or d/o (your both parents name), of XYZ Gotra(lineage/surname/grandfather's name if you don't know), resident of XYZ (city/town/village), on XYZ tithi (say Pitru Paksha 2025), am offering this Milk-Water Tarpanam to all my Ancestors and deceased Forefathers and Greatmothers....so, kindly recieve this offering with kindness, and grant us greater peace and satisfaction in life. If you are in stuck inbetween the Realms or in the Spirit World, then by taking this offering, move to the Higher Worlds/Realms or take new birth. I pray for your peace, and you also bless me and all your descendents as you rise above to the Higher Realms"
(You can translate this in your language)
- Then you can give offereing to Devtaa and Gods, in the same way and asking them to bless you. Direct the flow of water through middle finger.
You can say something like this " Oh great Gods and Devtas, Mother Goddess, etc please accept this offering and bless me"
- You can give offering individually to each God or in combined way as mentioned above
- Then, you can give offering to Saprarishis the same way as you gave to God's, directing the flow through the middle finger. If you know your Gotra then you can give separate offering to your Gotra Rishi e.g. Vashistha
- Then, give offering to holy saints and great humans, your Gurus and ask them to bless you. Here you will direct the flow of water to the curved region of heart line below the little finger. Repeat the same prayer to bless you
This was the preparation, and next, we proceed to the actual Tarpanam...
- Take Water from the pot with coin and grass and pray to your ancestors in the following way
" Oh my ancestors/name/relations, I am your descendant and today I am offering you this milk-water and black sesame. Please accept this humble offering and be satiated wherever you are. By accepting this offering, lose all the attachments from this mortal World and please move forward in the higher realms or take birth in a new body or get united with God, and bless us"
- Here, you will direct the flow of water through the region inbetween your thumb and index finger, from where your life line starts
- You can give individual offerings for your deceased relatives like grand parents, siblings, relatives...if you know the names then you can mention thier name or else mention by relation like grandfather, aunt, uncle, mama, kaki etc.
- Do this individually for nearby deceased relatives
- If all the members of your immediate family like father, mother, wife/husband, kids, sibling are living, then first give Tarpan to your grandfather & mother, then Tau/Chancha, Bhua and so in order
- If anyone from your family has died, then offer them tarpan first e.g if sibling or wife died or parent died then give them tarpan before grandparents
- The process will remain the same, you just need to give Tarpan to the near ones whom you have known and seen. You can make a list of all the names in order so that you don't forget & don't mess up
- If you know thier death date/tithi then you can give offering on those specified tithis of thier death, or you can give offering to everyone for these 15 days
- You shld also include if there was any sibling who died as an infant or your mother had miscarriage or abortion. For such cases do it specifically (most important step which very few tell/know)
- So, after giving offering for all the known ones, you can give offerings to 3 or 7 generations of ancestors, first for your maternal side and then for paternal side.
- You can say something like this " Oh my great grandfathers and great grandmothers of three generations from my mother (mother's name) side, I remember you on this day and offer you the holy water (tarpan). Please accept my humble offering from wherever you are and feel satiated...if you are stuck somewhere, then let this offering give you the force to move forward to the upper realms, or take a birth in a new body or be united with the great Spirit/God/Parmatma...and please bless me and all your defendants, so that we move forward in our lives"
- Give atleast one offering for one generation, like if you are doing for 7 generations then give atleast 7 offerings, but best is 21 offerings.
- Give equal offering in both maternal & paternal lineage
- Once, you do for ancestors of both sides, you can also offer a simple tarpan for all the deceased people whom you have known... It would be a friend, colleague, professor, your idol, army man etc. If you know their names then you can offer individually, else collectively. Can give 3 offerings for the known
- Finally you can give offering for all the deceased people who are stuck in the spirit realm, and who don't have anyone to give them offering. Ask them to move forward and bless for the World peace. You can give 3 offerings for the unknown, however this step is optional
- You can add plain water to the pot of water, as and when required, so take sufficient water in other glass/bottle
- After this is finished, maybe you can do a silent prayer, ask for forgiveness if you did anything wrong in this process, and ask them to bless you
- You can throw all the collected water with sesame seeds in any flowing canal/lake/river or in the tree/plants/garden...never discard this water in toilet or wash basin
May your ancestors be satiated with you and bless you.
Though this process may look long & technical, but once you do it it will hardly take 15 minutes, and for the regulars it takes 7-10 minutes. You can do some practice tonight, just arrange the black sesame seeds that you will get in puja stores. If you don't get sesame seeds if you are not in India, they just do with plain water.
If you have any questions, then you can message me on WhatsApp.
May Shiva-Shakti bless us all.
Vyasa Veda,
Astro-PLR Coach
