Chaturthi Shraddha

About Chaturthi Shraddha

Significance

Chaturthi Shraddha is for ancestors who died on a Chaturthi, the fourth tithi, in either fortnight; the digests give it no special category of its own. In the Mahabharata’s list of tithi-wise results (Anushasana Parva, Section 87) the fourth day is linked with flocks of small animals such as goats and sheep, and in the Brahma Purana’s list with freedom from enemies; these are traditional statements, not promises.

The days around Chaturthi and Panchami are also when the Moon usually passes through Bharani nakshatra during this fortnight. Dharma Sindhu describes a Bharani Shraddha in the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada, often called Maha Bharani, and says it carries merit equal to a Shraddha at Gaya. Bharani is a nakshatra, not a tithi, so the day it falls on changes from year to year.

How and where it is observed

Maha Bharani is especially observed in western and southern India, often by families who have not been able to go to Gaya. Opinions differ on timing: some families perform it in the first year after a parent’s death, while Dharma Sindhu, as summarised in modern condensations, gives reasons to prefer a later year, since during the first year the departed has not yet been joined with the earlier generations. Families follow their own custom or purohit.

Rituals

On Chaturthi itself the rite is the regular Mahalaya Shraddha with brahmana-bhojana, pinda-dana and tarpana. The same lunar date also brings Sankashti Chaturthi, the monthly fast for Ganesha that is broken after moonrise; households that keep both follow their own custom on how the fast and the Shraddha meal are combined. When Bharani coincides, some families perform the Bharani Shraddha that day in addition to the tithi Shraddha, following their manual.

How the date is fixed

The date is Bhadrapada Krishna Chaturthi (Amanta) or Ashvina Krishna Chaturthi (Purnimanta), on the day Chaturthi holds the afternoon Aparahna. Sankashti Chaturthi is decided by the tithi at moonrise, so it can fall a day apart from the Chaturthi Shraddha. Bharani follows the Moon’s nakshatra; check the daily Panchang for the day it prevails, as it is not tied to Chaturthi.

Sources

• Dharma Sindhu, Dwitiya Pariccheda, Bhadrapada: Mahalaya Paksha, Proshthapadi, Bharani, Magha-Trayodashi, Shastrahata Chaturdashi and Kapila Shashthi (English condensation: V.D.N. Rao, Essence of Dharma Sindhu, ch. 7)
• Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva, Section 87 (K.M. Ganguli translation): Bhishma on Shraddha and the result of each lunar day
• Brahma Purana, Shraddha-kalpa: tithi-wise list for the fortnight when the Sun is in Kanya (as summarised in Essence of Dharma Sindhu, ch. 7)
• Nirnaya Sindhu, Shraddha-nirnaya: the Shraddha tithi decided by its presence in Aparahna

Customs differ between regions, communities and families; this description is background, not a prescription. The date above is calculated by the rule shown on this page.