Pitru Paksha
Also called Shraddha
Sixteen days for the departed of one's line.
When it falls
27 September 2026 to 10 October 2026
By the sunrise at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar
- The rule
- Bhadrapada Krishna paksha in the Purnimanta reckoning; Ashwin Krishna paksha in the Amanta reckoning, the same sixteen days under two month-names
- Which day
- Sunrise (udaya-vyapini)
- Ordinary days of the fortnight are taken at sunrise. Sarva Pitru Amavasya, which closes it, is decided at aparahna, the fourth of five equal parts of the daylight, as shraddha rites are.
- Weight
- A major occasion
- Returns
- A season of days
What it is
Pitru Paksha is the dark fortnight from the full moon of Bhadrapada to the new moon after it, sixteen days set aside for shraddha and tarpana. Each day matches a tithi, and a family keeps the day matching the tithi on which their person died. The fortnight ends with Sarva Pitru Amavasya, kept for all the departed of a line together, and for those whose date is not known.
Where it is kept
Four of the six waters keep this fortnight. Vishram Ghat and Talakaveri keep pitru observances of their own kind.
Triveni Sangam
Sangam, Prayagraj
Purnimanta reckoning
Families have come to the Sangam for shraddha for longer than anyone can say, and the rite runs through the whole fortnight.
Ganga
Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar
Purnimanta reckoning
Har Ki Pauri keeps the full fortnight, and is the ghat most families abroad know by name.
Godavari
Ram Kund, Nashik
Amanta reckoning
Ram Kund is the best known place in the country for pitru rites.
Shipra
Ram Ghat, Ujjain
Purnimanta reckoning
Ram Ghat keeps the fortnight. Ujjain's pitru observances centre on the Shipra bank.
The windows
Pratah Snan
about 96 minutes
From sunrise
- Definition
- Sunrise, until two muhurtas of the day after it. A day muhurta is a fifteenth of the daylight, about 48 minutes at the equinox and longer in summer.
This window sits after sunrise, so its panchang day and its Gregorian date agree.
Abhijit Muhurat
about 48 minutes
From the sun's transit
- Definition
- The eighth of the fifteen equal muhurtas of the day, half a muhurta either side of the sun's true transit, not of clock noon.
Tradition leaves Abhijit out on a Wednesday, and so does this calendar.
Every time is given at the ghat first, and in your own zone beside it. How the clock is read
Where the timing comes from
- Source
- Computed here, checked against Drik Panchang
- Ayanamsa
- Lahiri (Chitrapaksha)
- Ghat coordinates
- Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar: 29.9457, 78.1642
Textual basis
The shraddha and tarpana rules of Pitru Paksha are set out in the shraddha sections of the dharmashastra nibandhas. A citable edition and passage is still to be added.
Every date here is computed: the tithi at the ghat's sunrise, the month named by the sankranti it holds, and the sun's entry into each sign under the Lahiri ayanamsa. Tithi, nakshatra, sunrise and windows were checked against Drik Panchang for Haridwar on eight days between September 2026 and March 2027, to the minute. The dates roll forward each morning.