Pitru Paksha 2021 Start And End Dates: Everything You Need To Know

Pic credit: istockphoto. Pitru Paksha 2021 start and end dates: Everything you need to know 

Key Highlights

• The Pitru Paksha in the Hindu calendar is a period when people pay homage to their deceased ancestors

• Shradh and Tarpanam rituals are performed to please the dead relatives

• Pitru Paksha starts after the day of the Full Moon day (Purnima) in Bhadrapada

Hindus pay tribute to their deceased ancestors during a fortnight referred to as Pitru Paksha in the Chaturmas period. And it begins after the Full Moon day (Purnima Tithi) in the Ashwin month, Krishna Paksha (as per Purnimant calendar) and Bhadrapada (according to the Amavasyant calendar). Interestingly, only the names of the months differ, but the date remains the same. During this period, people pay homage to their dead relatives by performing Shradh and Tarpanam rituals. Read on to know the Pitru Paksha Shradh start and end dates in 2021, the importance and other details.

Pitru Paksha 2021 start and end dates

Serial No.	Date	Day
1	September 21	Pratipada Shradh
2	September 22	Dwitiya Shradh
3	September 23	Tritiya Shradh
4	September 24	Chaturthi Shradh
5	September 25	Panchami Shradh
6	September 26	Sashti Shradh
7	September 28	Saptami Shradh
8	September 29	Ashtami Shradh
9	September 30	Navami Shradh
10	October 1	Dashami Shradh
11	October 2	Ekadashi Shradh
12	October 3	Dwadashi Shradh
13	October 4	Trayodashi Shradh
14	October 5	Chaturdashi Shradh
15	October 6	Sarva Pitru Amavasya Shradh

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Pitru Paksha significance

The Pitru Paksha commences after the Full Moon day, and it marks the beginning of the waning phase of the Lunar cycle. It is roughly a 15-day period of great significance. Rituals like Tarpan/Tarpanam and Shradh are carried out to pay respects to dead relatives/ ancestors.

Belief suggests that the unhappy souls of the deceased return to the Earth to see their family members. Therefore, to ensure they attain Moksha (get liberated), people quench their thirst and satisfy their hunger by performing the Pind Daan (offering food consisting of cooked rice and black sesame seeds). The Pind Daan refers to the act of appeasing those who no longer exist in their physical form.

Prayers are offered, and rituals are performed to help the souls get freed from the cycle of birth, life and death.

The Pitru Paksha is also a significant period for people with Pitru Dosha or the curse of the ancestors. Therefore, people perform Shradha rituals and offer food to the crows ( beings that represent the dead). And by accepting the food provided by people, the crow intimates that the ancestors are pleased. However, if it refuses to have the food offered, it indicates that the dead are displeased.