When is Pitru Paksha 2027?

In New Delhi, Pitru Paksha opens on Wednesday, 15 September 2027 with the Purnima Shraddha and closes about a fortnight later on Sarva Pitru Amavasya, after which Sharad Navratri begins. On the opening day the shraddha muhurats are: Kutup 11:51 AM to 12:41 PM, Rohina 12:41 PM to 1:30 PM, aparahna 1:30 PM to 3:58 PM. Times differ by city, so choose yours on this page.

Three honest reasons. The tithi can be running at the deciding moment on two days or on none. North India reckons the month purnimanta and the south and west amanta, which names the same krishna fortnight differently. And almanacs differ on which moment of the day decides an observance. The instants above are the astronomy; the day is an interpretation of them.

On the tithi on which they died, as the lunar day, not the calendar date: someone who died on an Ashtami, in either half of any month, is remembered on the Ashtami of Pitru Paksha. Mothers, and women who died while their husbands lived, are also remembered on Navami; sannyasis on Dwadashi; those who died untimely deaths on Chaturdashi; and anyone whose tithi is unknown, on Sarva Pitru Amavasya.

The day is divided into fifteen muhurtas. Kutup is the eighth, around midday, and Rohina the ninth; the shraddha is begun in Kutup, carried through Rohina, and completed within the aparahna, the afternoon that follows. On the opening day they are 11:51 AM to 12:41 PM, 12:41 PM to 1:30 PM and 1:30 PM to 3:58 PM; each day of the fortnight has its own, a few minutes apart.

After bathing, face south. If you wear the sacred thread, move it to the right shoulder; put a ring of kusha on the ring finger. Take water with black sesame in cupped hands and let it flow out between thumb and index finger, three times for each ancestor, saying their name and gotra and idam tilodakam tasmai svadha namah (tasyai for a woman).

On the ancestor's tithi, cook a sattvik meal, begin in the Kutup muhurat with the sankalp and a lamp, offer pinds of rice and sesame on kusha facing south, set aside portions for the cow, dog, crow and ants, and serve the meal to Brahmins or people in need with dakshina, all within the aparahna. A family priest can guide the full rite; the steps are above.

Pind daan is the offering of pinds, balls of cooked rice with sesame, barley, ghee and honey, to the ancestors. It is part of every shraddha, and tradition holds an offering at Gaya, at the Vishnupad temple and the Phalgu river, especially sacred: there, the legend says, Sita offered pinds to Dasharatha.

No shraddha after sunset; no onion, garlic, meat or alcohol in the shraddha food; no one who asks for food turned away. Many families also postpone weddings, house-warmings, mundan and big purchases. None of this is because the fortnight is unlucky: it is simply set apart for the ancestors.

Yes. Daily worship and temple visits go on as usual; the fortnight adds the remembrance of the ancestors, it does not stop the worship of God. Some families keep only their big celebrations for later.

Many families avoid big new purchases and celebrations in these days as a mark of respect, and wait for Navratri. Essentials are bought as needed. Tradition does not say the fortnight brings harm; buying is put off only by custom.

Traditionally the eldest son performs it, then other male relatives; but a wife or daughter may perform it when there is no son, and many families and teachers today accept daughters doing so. The tradition itself remembers Sita offering pinds to Dasharatha at Gaya.

The closing day of Pitru Paksha, also called Mahalaya Amavasya: the shraddha for all ancestors together, for those whose tithi is unknown or forgotten, for those who died on Chaturdashi naturally, and for any shraddha missed on its own tithi. Its Kutup and aparahna fall around the same hours as the opening day's; check that day's panchang.

The Vedic salutation to the three generations, Om pitribhyah svadhayibhyah svadha namah; the tarpan words idam tilodakam tasmai svadha namah; and the verse Devatabhyah pitribhyash cha, said three times at the start and end of the shraddha. All are above, with meanings.

Kheer above all, with puri, dal and sattvik vegetables cooked without onion or garlic, and often a dish the departed loved. Portions go first to the cow, the dog, the crow and the ants, then to the Brahmins or guests, and only then to the family.

On Sarva Pitru Amavasya, about a fortnight after it opens on Wednesday, 15 September 2027. Sharad Navratri begins right after it, and the fortnight of the ancestors gives way to the fortnight of the goddess.

No. A child born in these days is not marked by them; there is nothing inauspicious about the birth. The fortnight is about remembering those who came before, and a new life in the family is a blessing at any time.

In astrology, pitru dosha names certain chart patterns read as duties left undone towards the ancestors. Tradition's answer is the fortnight itself: remember them, offer tarpan and shraddha, feed others in their name, and live in a way that honours them. It is nothing to fear.