The ancestors & Devi Durga
Mahalaya
The hinge of the year — ancestors honoured at dawn, and the Mother invited by the same breath.
Tithi: Sarva Pitru Amavasya — Ashwin Amavasya (north) · Sarva Pitru Amavasya — Bhadrapada Amavasya (west & south) — the same night
Which calendar do you follow?
The bright fortnight is named the same everywhere. A dark fortnight belongs to one month in the north and to the month before it in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the south — the same night, two true names. Saved only on this device.
In the simplest words
The morning Durga sets out for earth — Bengal wakes before dawn to hear Mahishasura Mardini on the radio, and pitru paksha ends.
The story & purpose
Mahalaya closes Pitru Paksha with Sarva Pitru Amavasya — the amavasya on which tarpan reaches every ancestor, named and unnamed, remembered and forgotten. Millions stand in rivers at dawn with til and water; whatever was left undone toward the dead is set right today.
And the same day, Devi Paksha opens. In Bengal, Mahalaya IS the 4 a.m. radio — Birendra Krishna Bhadra's Mahishasura-mardini chanted since 1931, at which the goddess is said to set out for her earthly home. Sculptors paint Durga's eyes today — chokkhu daan — and the pandals hold their breath.
What is done
Tarpan
Water and black til offered at dawn facing south, with the ancestors' names — or for all ancestors together.
Anna-daan
Food for the day's guests — brahmins and the poor — and the five bali portions set out for the cow, the dog, the crow, the ants and the devas.
Chandi-path
Mahishasura-mardini or Durga Saptashati heard at dawn — the Devi Paksha begun with her own hymn.
Best timings
Tarpan in the morning; shraddha in the afternoon (aparahna), as the shastra prefers; the Chandi path at brahma-muhurta.
Exact muhurat varies by city and tradition — for the precise hour, consult a local panchang for your location.
Worth knowing
The radio broadcast, now past ninety years old, still tops Bengal's listening charts once a year.
Tarpan at Kolkata's ghats and Prayag's sangam runs shoulder to shoulder for kilometres.
In Karnataka and Andhra this amavasya is Mahalaya Amavasye, kept with tarpana; in Telangana, Bathukamma opens on it the same evening.
Mantras of this festival
ॐ पितृभ्यो नमः
Pitru nama-mantra
Begin jaap →ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
Shanti mantra — threefold peace
Begin jaap →या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥
Ya Devi Sarva Bhuteshu
Begin jaap →ॐ ऐं ह्रीं क्लीं चामुण्डायै विच्चे
Navarna mantra
Begin jaap →ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्
Gayatri mantra
Begin jaap →Note: 2027: Drik Panchang and most lists give 29 Sep; the amavasya tithi runs into 30 Sep and a few lists use that day. Local panchang decides.