Pratipada Shraddha
Shraddha for ancestors who passed away on Pratipada tithi.
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This festival's date rule is applied exactly as documented, but it has not yet passed the platform's Jyotish review (an automated review against the classical texts and published Panchangs). Regional Panchangs may differ; confirm with your family priest or local temple.
- CategoryShraddha
- Defining tithi / momentKrishna Paksha Pratipada: to
- Lunar monthBhadrapada Krishna Paksha (Amanta) · Ashwin Krishna Paksha (Purnimanta)
Timings on Thursday, 16 September 2027
- Kutup Muhurat to 0 h 49 min · 16/09/2027 (Thu)
- Rohina Muhurat to 0 h 49 min · 16/09/2027 (Thu)
- Aparahna to 2 h 27 min · 16/09/2027 (Thu)
Rule applied: Smarta — The tithi covers the required time on this day only.
About Pratipada Shraddha
Significance
Pratipada Shraddha, on the first tithi of the dark fortnight, is the day for ancestors who died on a Pratipada in either fortnight. It is also the first day of the Mahalaya proper: Dharma Sindhu counts the Mahalaya Shraddhas from Bhadrapada Krishna Pratipada to Amavasya, and families who keep a Shraddha on every day of the fortnight begin their daily series here.
The Mahabharata (Anushasana Parva, Section 87 in Ganguli’s translation) gives Bhishma’s list of what a Shraddha on each lunar day is said to bring; for the first day it names a household blessed with spouses and many accomplished children. A parallel list ascribed to the Brahma Purana names wealth. These are traditional statements of merit, not promises.
How and where it is observed
A day often confused with this one is the Dauhitra or Matamaha Shraddha. Dharma Sindhu directs a daughter’s son to offer a Shraddha with pinda to his maternal grandfather on Ashvina Shukla Pratipada, the day after Sarva Pitru Amavasya and the first day of Sharad Navratri, and says this applies even when his own father is living. Popular almanacs sometimes link the maternal grandparents with the Pratipada of Pitru Paksha instead; where the two differ, follow your family custom or purohit.
Rituals
The Pratipada rite follows the usual pattern of brahmana-bhojana, pinda-dana and tarpana, with portions for the cow, dog and crow. One detail concerns this tithi in particular: Dharma Sindhu lists Pratipada among the days on which sesame-water offerings are normally avoided in daily worship, but it allows tila-tarpana during the Mahalaya, as at Gaya, so sesame is used on this day as on the rest of the fortnight.
How the date is fixed
The date is Bhadrapada Krishna Pratipada in the Amanta calendar, which Purnimanta calendars call Ashvina Krishna Pratipada, on the day this tithi holds the afternoon Aparahna. Pratipada begins the moment the full moon ends, so its date is tied closely to that of Purnima Shraddha: when the full moon ends during an afternoon, both tithis touch that Aparahna and each goes to the day on which it covers more of it, which can put them on consecutive dates or, occasionally, on the same date. The Dauhitra Shraddha on Ashvina Shukla Pratipada is a different day, a fortnight later.
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)
- Dharma Sindhu, Tritiya Pariccheda, Uttarardha: who performs Shraddha; the daughter’s son’s Shraddha on Ashvina Shukla Pratipada (Essence of Dharma Sindhu, ch. 25)
- 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)
- Dharma Sindhu, Tritiya Pariccheda, Shraddha-prakarana (English condensation: V.D.N. Rao, Essence of Dharma Sindhu, ch. 26)
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.
How the date is determined
- In the Amanta system (months end at the new moon) this is Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha Pratipada; in the Purnimanta system used in most of North India (months end at the full moon) the same day is called Ashwin Krishna Paksha Pratipada.
- It falls on the day when this tithi prevails during Aparahna — the fourth fifth of the daytime, in the afternoon.
- If the tithi prevails at that time on two consecutive days, the day on which it covers more of that period is taken.
- If the tithi does not touch that period on any day (a kshaya tithi), the Hindu day on which the tithi prevails longest is used.
- In a year with an Adhik month of the same name, it is observed in the regular (Nija) month.
- Shraddha is performed in the afternoon: the tithi is chosen by its presence in Aparahna, and the Kutup, Rohina and Aparahna windows of that day are shown.
Traditional variation
This is the date given by the rule shown above for the selected place. It is not the only valid date: regional Panchangs, family customs and sampradayas may observe it on a different day.
Rule source: Shraddha tithi determined by Aparahna vyapti (Nirnaya Sindhu)
Traditions may vary by region and Panchang convention. Times are shown for the selected place, time zone and calculation profile.
Calculated with engine 1.4.2 · rules rules-2026-10-21-2ab12b5d · profile north-lahiri-calibrated v1 · ayanamsa lahiri_drik_compat · astronomy-engine@2.1.19 · Asia/Dubai
Dates in 2026
| Date | Defining tithi / moment | Time windows | Decision notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27/09/2026 (Sun)
Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha (Amanta) · Ashwin Krishna Paksha (Purnimanta) |
Krishna Paksha Pratipada: to |
|
Standard rule applied |
Dates in 2027
| Date | Defining tithi / moment | Time windows | Decision notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16/09/2027 (Thu)
Next
Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha (Amanta) · Ashwin Krishna Paksha (Purnimanta) |
Krishna Paksha Pratipada: to |
|
Standard rule applied |