Shraddh, Tarpan and Pitru Dosh Puja by Video Call

01What the Pitru Dosh Puja and Shraddh is, and when families hold it

Shraddh is the rite of remembering and feeding one's ancestors (pitrs) with faith (shraddha). Its core is tarpan, offering water with black sesame and kusha grass while naming the ancestors, and pinda daan, offering balls of cooked rice mixed with sesame, ghee and honey. It is followed by feeding a Brahmin or a guest and offering food to a cow, a crow and a dog, as the family's tradition directs.

It is performed on the tithi of a parent's death each year, through Pitru Paksha (the fortnight of the waning moon in Bhadrapada in the purnimanta calendar, Ashvin in the amanta calendar, usually in September), especially on Sarva Pitru (Mahalaya) Amavasya, and on other Amavasyas. Pitru dosh is a term some astrologers use when a chart is read as showing ancestral affliction; the remedy usually suggested is this same remembrance.

02What the Pitru Dosh Puja and Shraddh is traditionally done for

• Traditionally done to remember and honour the family's ancestors.
• Traditionally done for peace for the departed.
• Traditionally done to remove the household's sense of an unfinished duty.

When: in Pitru Paksha, on Amavasya, on the death anniversary (tithi), or when the kundli suggests pitru dosh.

03Count, duration, and what is included

Tarpan and shraddh in every package; Pitru Gayatri 1,008, 5,100 or 11,000 times in the upper packages. Typical durations are listed in each package below; the price, the date, the time and how long the puja takes are confirmed with you on WhatsApp when you book.

Included in every package:

• Either a live call or a video recording of the puja if you cannot attend, never both
• All samagri, arranged by the pandit at no extra charge
• Sankalp in your family's names and gotra
• Date and muhurat worked out for your city
• Keepsake certificate after the puja (Certificate included)

Not included:

• Shipping of prasad
• Any in-person visit by a pandit

04How the Pitru Dosh Puja and Shraddh works by video call

The Pitru Dosh Puja and Shraddh is performed live by an experienced pandit we work with, on a one-on-one video call with your family. You stay at home, anywhere in the world, and do the offerings with your own hands while the pandit leads. The steps:

1. Book on WhatsApp: Message us on WhatsApp with the puja you want, your city and country, and your time zone. The button on this page fills in the puja and your time zone for you; you add your city.
2. Choose the date and muhurat: We suggest dates and times in your own local time. Where the puja calls for a muhurat (an auspicious window), it is worked out from the panchang for the city you are in, not for India.
3. Samagri arranged for you: The pandit arranges all the samagri for the puja, at no extra charge; you only need a clean, quiet place at home to sit for the call.
4. Join the video call: At the agreed time you join a one-on-one video call with the pandit from your home altar, on WhatsApp video or Google Meet, whichever your family prefers. It is your family's call alone.
5. Sankalp with your names and gotra: The pandit begins with the sankalp: the formal statement of the place, the date, the names of the family members, your gotra and the intention of the puja.
6. The puja: The pandit recites the mantras and guides each offering step by step, so that the hands placing the flowers, the water and the lamp are your own.
7. Aarti: The puja closes with aarti: you wave the lamp at your altar while the pandit sings, and the whole family can join in.
8. Prasad guidance: The pandit tells you how to offer and share the prasad, and what to do afterwards with the flowers, the kalash water and the other offerings.

In shraddh, the person performing the rite does the offerings, so the video format suits it well. On the call the pandit recites the sankalp and the mantras, and tells you when to change the sacred thread position, how to hold the kusha, and when to offer each handful of water and sesame and each pinda. The pandit then guides the offering of food and the closing prayers.

05Who it suits

It suits families abroad who cannot travel home for a parent's annual shraddh, families who want to keep Pitru Paksha properly, and anyone told that their chart shows pitru dosh. Who performs the rite varies by family: traditionally a son or male descendant, and in many families today a daughter, a wife or another relative. Follow your family's custom, and ask the pandit if you are unsure.

06Timing and muhurat

The annual shraddh falls on the tithi of death, not the calendar date, and Pitru Paksha shraddh is held on the matching tithi within the fortnight. Shraddh is traditionally done around midday, in the kutapa and rauhina muhurtas. Tithis and midday change with your city, so we compute them where you live; the Muhurta Finder shows the panchang for any day.

07Booking, payment and rescheduling

All bookings are made on WhatsApp. You pay on WhatsApp by UPI (in India), PayPal, USDT or card-to-USDT; nothing is paid on this website. Payments are not refundable, but you can reschedule up to two times if you tell us at least 48 hours before the puja (see our refund policy).

The call is on WhatsApp video or Google Meet, whichever your family prefers. The pandit performs the puja in Sanskrit and speaks Hindi; a team member who speaks English joins the live call to help families who prefer English.

If your family cannot attend live, the pandit performs the puja for you and we send you a video of it instead. It is either a live call or a video recording, never both: a live call is not recorded. The price, the date, the time and how long the puja takes are confirmed with you on WhatsApp when you book.