ଅଷ୍ଟମୀ ଶ୍ରାଦ୍ଧ

About ଅଷ୍ଟମୀ ଶ୍ରାଦ୍ଧ

Significance

Ashtami Shraddha is for ancestors who died on an Ashtami, the eighth tithi, in either fortnight. It falls in the middle of the fortnight, and in South Indian practice it is called Madhyashtami, ‘the middle Ashtami’: one of the days, with Maha Bharani and Maha Vyatipata, on which a Mahalaya Shraddha is said to bring merit like that of a Shraddha at Gaya.

Dharma Sindhu’s yearly list of ninety-six Shraddha occasions includes the Krishna Ashtami of Bhadrapada among its Ashtaka days, and it allows Ashtami as a starting day for those who cannot keep the whole fortnight. The Mahabharata’s tithi list (Anushasana Parva, Section 87) associates the eighth day with success in trade, and the Brahma Purana’s list with knowledge.

How and where it is observed

Two other observances often fall on this lunar date. In Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and the Mithila region of Nepal, mothers keep the Jivitputrika (Jitiya) vrat on Ashvina Krishna Ashtami (Purnimanta) for the long life of their children, usually with a strict fast. In parts of North India the sixteen-day Mahalakshmi vrata, begun on Bhadrapada Shukla Ashtami, concludes on this Ashtami. Households keeping either alongside a Shraddha follow their own custom on how the fast and the Shraddha meal are arranged.

Rituals

The Ashtami Shraddha follows the usual Mahalaya sequence of brahmana-bhojana, pinda-dana and tarpana, with shares for the cow, dog and crow. In the South Indian practice that regards Madhyashtami as specially meritorious, families who keep a single Mahalaya Shraddha in the fortnight, rather than one on the death tithi, sometimes choose this day for it.

How the date is fixed

The date is Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami (Amanta), the same day as Ashvina Krishna Ashtami (Purnimanta), on which Ashtami holds the afternoon Aparahna. Jivitputrika and the end of the Mahalakshmi vrata are fixed by their own rules, which look at other times of day and at regional rules about Ashtami joined with Saptami, so in some years they fall a day apart from the Ashtami Shraddha.

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)
• Madhva Mahalaya-paksha observances: Maha Bharani, Madhyashtami, Avidhava Navami, Yati Mahalaya (Madhwa Festivals)

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.