Garuḍa Purāṇa 16
There is a ritual called sapiṇḍīkaraṇa performed on the twelfth day from the date of death. Originally, this was performed along with the first year ceremonial rites. Nowadays it has become part of funeral rites. By performing this rite, the preta body of the dead enters the world of ancestors known as pitṛloka. The subtle body of the dead is called preta till sapiṇḍīkaraṇa is performed. Till sapiṇḍīkaraṇa is performed, no auspicious functions should be held in the family of the deceased. Garuḍa Purāṇa says that sapiṇḍīkaraṇa can be performed on the twelfth day. If this is not possible, it can be performed at the end of 45th day or six months or at the end of one year. During the first year after death, sixteen śrāddha-s (ceremonies performed in honour of the dead) are to be performed. If these sixteen śrāddha-s along with sapiṇḍīkaraṇa are performed, preta body of the dead loses its identity and becomes a pitṛ or ancestor. Till then, the subtle body continues to suffer and some of them become ghosts. Sixteen śrāddha-s are –1. at the place of death, 2. at halfway to the cremation ground, 3. at the pyre, 4. in the hand of corpse, 5. to the spirits living in the cremation ground, 6. at the time of collecting ashes and 7 – 16. during the first ten days after death. There is another method to reckon this. Twelve monthly ceremonies and four ceremonies one at the end of 45 days, 90 days, 180 days and 360 days. Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa can be performed only by the son. If the deceased has no son, it can be performed by his wife, brothers, brother’s son or other close relatives. For a woman, only her son, husband or husband’s brother alone can perform sapiṇḍīkaraṇa. After performing sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, nāndī śrāddha should be performed. Nāndī śrāddha is a ceremony performed to seek the blessings of ancestors while performing any auspicious ceremonies such as marriage. After performing sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, no further individual rite should be performed. In case individual rites are performed after sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, sapiṇḍīkaraṇa is to be performed again. If sapiṇḍīkaraṇa is performed, the dead becomes a pitṛ or ancestor and ceremonial rites should be performed for three generations – the dead, his father and his grandfather. If individual śrāddha-s are performed after sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, the performer tortures the subtle body of the dead. Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa should not be performed if the deceased’s father is alive and in the case of a woman, if her husband is alive.
It is said that if śrāddha-s are not performed for a departed soul, its subtle body becomes a ghost. If it attains ghost hood, it cannot reach the world of ancestors. Apart from non-performance of śrāddha rites, one can become ghost if he steals from women, children and temples. Those who steal conch shells also become ghosts. The only way to get rid of ghost hood is to perform Nārāyaṇa bali. Bali means offering oblations. This rite purifies the preta body of the dead. Only preta body is capable of becoming a ghost.
There is reference to a remedy to eradicate repeated obstacles or sufferings to a person. One has to make a jar, preferably in gold and fill it up with milk or ghee. After worshipping Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva and the eight cardinal deities, the jar is to be gifted to a knower of Vedas. If this ritual is performed, all the obstacles are removed.
Yenoley Y
September 06, 2013 12:29 AM
Respected Sir,
Our priest performed the Sapindikarana Shraddha at our own house, when my father passed away recently. Is that in accordance with the shastras or is it against the dictates of vedas / smritis ?
As we are not doing the monthly shraddhas, we are giving Swayampaka (Gifts to One Brahmin person), will that be acceptable or not as per the rules ?
I Request you to Kindly enlighten me in this regard and oblige.
Thank You
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MANBLUNDER
September 06, 2013 08:51 AM
Sapindikarana can be performed at home. Except a homa for Yama on 11th day, all other rituals can be performed at home. Theoretically speaking, monthly ceremonies need not be done, as these are initially done. Gifts to knower of Vedas is acceptable.
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Yenoley Y
September 07, 2013 05:41 PM
Thank You Sir, I am now feeling pacified after reading your answers.
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Vanessa Umrao
November 03, 2013 11:48 AM
Guruji,
My grandfather 's brother died this year, should we celebrate Diwali? I researched about it online but got no good answer. I am confused, I read that I can celebrate but my elders say different? Please help me.
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MANBLUNDER
November 03, 2013 12:11 PM
Your elder's are right and they go by śāstra-s. If you personally know him, then it is advisable not to celebrate. If you do not know him, then you can celebrate, which is however against śāstra-s.
If you ask me personally, mentally seek his blessings and celebrate.
I have not gone into the details now, as today is Diwali.
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Ullas Lakshminarayana
February 13, 2014 07:01 PM
Guruji,
My Father is thinking to perform Sapindikarana Shraddha to cover all his departed elders. His Father & Mother have passed away in 1994 & 1997 respectively. Now, a known Priest has suggested his to perform this Sapindikarana Shraddha & Thila home to help departed souls to find mukthi & indirectly we will get relief from our Problems (Health, Finance, Shatru Kata, Etc).
I read in your above article that once Sapindikarana is performed, he sould not perform individual rites again. What is the meaning of this sentence ?
Does it mean that he can not perform Yearly Ceremony of his Mother & Father ?
Kindly advise.
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MANBLUNDER
February 13, 2014 07:31 PM
I am not Guruji!!! My name is Ravi.
Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa is performed only on the 12th day after death. What I meant was that no other apara rites for that departed soul should be performed after performing Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa. After sapiṇḍīkaraṇa, next day (13th day) auspicious functions are performed. However, monthly rites, etc can be done as prescribed in śāstra-s.
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w45rw45y5
December 14, 2020 09:14 AM
Hello, In Sapindikarana, what kind of attire / clothes do everyone wear?
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Krishna
December 18, 2020 08:20 AM
Generally white clothes.
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Kaushik Chandrasekaran
September 10, 2014 09:55 AM
respected guruji, my mom passed away on august 30th, therefore the priest has instructed me to do sapindikarana , my dad is still alive and you have written"Sapiṇḍīkaraṇa should not be performed if the deceased’s father is alive and in the case of a woman, if her husband is alive. i am in a state of confusion. please clarify
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MANBLUNDER
September 10, 2014 11:02 AM
Your priest is right. There are exceptions given in Garuda Purana. Only in those cases, it is not suggested. Please refer Garuda Purana II.26.
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Jyoti Raibole
December 11, 2014 01:35 PM
Respected Guruji,
My father`s Elder brother died on 8th evening ... according to the priest they(father and his younger brothers) have programmed sapindikarana on 19th after 11.00 AM.
The question is .. my uncle was alone ... he have son from first marriage but they have divorced when the son was not even born and second marriage wife passed away in Gujarat earthquake in 2001. so is it alright if they do this vidhi by their own or by any one`s son (like .. my father`s younger brothers have a son each).
please guide.
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MANBLUNDER
December 11, 2014 08:08 PM
Yes, it can be done according to the convenience and circumstances. Family priest will guide you on this. There are certain procedures involved in this.
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Jyoti Raibole
December 12, 2014 04:36 AM
Thank you Sir
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Vanessa Umrao
March 26, 2015 01:42 AM
Thank you
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Itsmeanyway
October 12, 2015 02:44 PM
Respected Sir, My father passed away on July 23rd 2015. Sharddha has been done. I am Bramhin. I am the sonly son. I want to perform the purification rituals to come out of "kala osuch" (Impurification) before the completion of one year. Though I will follow all the Ekadoshi and and will also perform the Batsarik Kriya (first annual memorial rituals) but I want to come out of the "Kala Osuch" right now as I am not allowed to go and attend any good rituals cant go to temple and worship god cant do anything. I am a service man I eat outside most of the time and non veg also. So I need your advise can this "Kal Osouch"be withdrawn before 1 year? I don't have any rituals coming to my family though but I want to perform this to lead a normal life. Please help.
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MANBLUNDER
October 14, 2015 10:12 AM
After 45 days from the date of death, you can go to temples and can participate in any auspicious functions. Purification rituals would have been performed during 13th or 16th day. Hence, no more purification ceremonies are needed. You can do worship at home or at temples and there is no problem here. You can lead a normal life.
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Itsmeanyway
October 14, 2015 02:16 PM
Respected sir, As we are brahmin the shradh has been performed on 11 th day and on 13th day we could have non veg. But the ritual which happens after a year i am asking about that? Am i allowed to attend marriage ceremony before that? Or any auspicious rituals? The sapindkaran has not been done on the day of shradh..... So i requested the priest to relieve me from kala osouch early so that i dnt have to wait for a year. He is saying not possible. Thats why i am asking for ur help and advise. I am a bengali brahmin.
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MANBLUNDER
October 14, 2015 02:26 PM
You can attend marriage ceremony provided sapindikarana is done within 13 days of death.
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Itsmeanyway
October 14, 2015 04:00 PM
Can i do the sapindakaran now? My father expired on 23rd july 2015. There was one dosh also ekpad dosh. How to remivw that when can the pooja be done for this dosh after sapindakaran or before sapindkaran this pooja can b done also? I have just these two queries... Eagerly waiting for ur response so that i can take necessary steps.....thanks and regards....
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MANBLUNDER
October 14, 2015 10:13 PM
Since your father attained His Lotus feet in July 2015, you can do sapinidikarana in 3rd, 4th or 6th month. You can consult your priest to fix the date based on lunar thiti. If you perform sapnindikarana as above, no puja needs to be performed.
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Ravi Sharma
November 18, 2015 07:51 AM
Dear sir,
My mother passed away on 28th October 2015. I have performed all the rites as prescribed by my priest. I am not able to perform the 27th, 45th, 180th, and all other monthly shradha's. I thought of giving "swayampaka" pls guide me as to how many ppl I should give the it and what all should include in that.
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MANBLUNDER
November 18, 2015 10:04 AM
I am sorry to hear about your mother's demise. All these ceremonies are already performed during 12th day after death. They need not be repeated again. But opinion differs. You can feed couple of poor people on those days.
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Raj, Challakere
March 04, 2016 10:46 PM
Raj, Challakere
Dear Sir,
My friends parents are of different castes. Mother is a Brahmin and the son would like to perform the rituals as per the Brahmin community. As his father is a non brahmin, how can he do the sapindikarana. pl suggest
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MANBLUNDER
March 05, 2016 09:32 AM
If the son wants to perform rituals as per Brahmin tradition, he can do it. Nothing will prevent him from following Brahmin rituals.
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Shweta Bacchoo
April 11, 2016 04:51 PM
Pranam Guruji..
My chacha passed away on the 6th of April 2016. My marriage is fixed for the 29th of April 2016. Can i myself perform the Sapindkaran in order to be able to carry on with the wedding? Many people are asking me not to do so since am a girl.
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Shweta Bacchoo
April 11, 2016 04:54 PM
Pranam Gurui
My chacha died on 6th April 2016 and my wedding has been fixe for 29th of April 2016.Can i perform the Sapindakaran myself in order to be able to carry on with the wedding? Being a girl,am i allowed to perform the Sapindakaran?
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MANBLUNDER
April 11, 2016 05:34 PM
Women cannot perform Sapindikaranam and therefore, you cannot do it. Uncle is mother's brother and mother's gotra would have changed to your father's at the time of marriage. Hence you can have your wedding on 29th.
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Sreedhar Mylavarapu
September 05, 2016 09:58 AM
Sir if grandmother passes away can the granchildren perform vinayaka chavithi etc within one year or whole family have to refrain from going to temples or performing other vratams just as thr son of the departed
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MANBLUNDER
September 05, 2016 10:02 AM
1. If it is maternal grandmother, then grandchildren can perform Vinayaka Chaturti puja after 13 or 16 days, as the case may be.
2. If one is not living with the departed soul, second generation can perform puja even in the case of paternal grandmother.
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Sreedhar Mylavarapu
September 05, 2016 10:17 AM
Many thanks sir for the fast and clear response. I was enquiring about Paternal Grandmother only.i forgot to mention that You were gracious enough to give both replies so that others can benefit too.many thanks sir
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Devyani M.
October 03, 2016 09:13 PM
My grandfather( paternal side) passed away on 30th September2016. Is it mandatory to eat veg for 14days since I stay abroad its very difficult to follow such rites.plz advise
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MANBLUNDER
October 03, 2016 09:18 PM
When there is no option, what else can you do? Under these circumstances, it is okay to have non-vegetarian food.
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Aravind Babu Pomar
October 12, 2016 02:57 PM
Dear sir,
Jeevita putra or Garbhini's pati can perform shraadhi vidhi(sapindikarana) for his mother ?
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Lakshman Rao Rajasekaran
April 20, 2017 05:42 PM
Respected sir, In case a person dies is it sufficient the last rites performed by the first wife's son who is also the eldest. Is it necessary that second wife's son who is younger also to repeat the rituals. Both the families are separated for more than thirty years and the the man died was living with first wife and so the younger son did not attend the funeral ceremony. What the younger son born to second wife has to do now.
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MANBLUNDER
April 20, 2017 05:45 PM
Last rites should be done by the first son. Second wife's son need not do last rites, as the deceased eldest son has done it. Last rites can be done only once and there is no need for repetition. At the most, son born to the second wife can do annual rites (shrardha) separately.
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Lakshman Rao Rajasekaran
April 20, 2017 09:17 PM
Respected sir, Thank you for your prompt and satisfactory reply
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Lakshman Rao Rajasekaran
January 08, 2018 07:35 AM
Respected Sir, I require some clarification to a question posed by one of my relatives to me.The problem is like this , He is unmarried and crossing 40 years and has lost his father few years back and doing required ceremony yearly. Few years back he lost his uncle who is a parental cousin of his father.The person who died was also unmarried and his final rites were done by other relatives from his sister's side. Now my relative boy wants to know whether he has to do any ritual as he is only sapinda relation alive . Is there any remedy now as he is not doing any yearly ritual since his death for about more than five years . I will be grateful if you could give some clarification and solution to the above. Thank you Sir, Yours L Rajasekaran
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MANBLUNDER
January 09, 2018 09:26 AM
There is no need for your relative boy to do any annual ritual for his uncle.
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Lakshman Rao Rajasekaran
January 10, 2018 04:03 PM
Dear Sir, Thanks for your quick response From L Rajasekaran
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Reema MUKHERJEE
February 10, 2019 10:49 PM
Guruji, My husband's father expired on 14 dec, 2018. He had performed the shraddha ritual as per Brahmin tradition. As my son's upanayan and registration/griha pravesh to our new house requires to be done this year, as after this it could be done after 2 years, so is there any way he can perform batsarik ( annual ritual) before 1 year of death and come out of Kaal Asouch. We are Bengali Brahmins.
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MANBLUNDER
February 11, 2019 10:35 AM
You can have both upanayanam and house warming function in this year.
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Madhupa
March 08, 2019 10:22 AM
respected sir, my father died in 2018, 31st jan. I am only girl child.my mom had died 2013. My father had a son from his first marriag. he did not perform any funeral rites of my father. But there was no one to guide me during the 12day after hus death. I touched many things like clothing and other household things during "Asouch", I could not wash all clothes i wore those days and washed it later on. can this cause any harm to my future? and on his death anniversary, according to bramhin tradition I performed swapindkaran at Ganga Banks and offered it to ganga..but I did not take bath in ganga... is it against shastra? should a person take bath after swapindakarana or pind daan? please enlighten me regarding this, I am very anxious to know if these would cause any mishaps to my family as I am going to get married this year.. Thank you...
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MANBLUNDER
March 08, 2019 10:45 AM
Other issues can be ignored. But you should have taken bath after sapindikarana and pinda dhana. If possible, take bath in Ganges now. However, be rest assured that nothing wrong will happen to you, as you have done it without knowledge and nobody was there to guide you. Don't worry.
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Madhupa
March 08, 2019 11:13 AM
Thank you sir for your reply... I had taken bath after returning home after swapindakarana.. but did not take after pinda daan on 13days ceremon.. The bengali bramhins who were guiding me on that day, had sprinkled ganga water on my body.. and gave me shanti Jal.. can it cause any accidental death or any death to my family?
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MANBLUNDER
March 08, 2019 11:17 AM
Now you have clarified. Nothing wrong will happen either to you or your family in future on account of this.
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Madhupa
March 08, 2019 11:27 AM
so do need to take bath in Ganges now? did sprinkling ganga water substituted taking a bath? sir May be my questions are annoying you but I am very helpless right now.. one more thing I want to know after swapindakarana(My toe was in the ganga water when i offered it) i rerturned home in a scooter, should I have washed it too after using it again?
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MANBLUNDER
March 08, 2019 11:36 AM
No need to take bath now, as water has been sprinkled on you. There is no need to wash your scooter. Everything is find now. Don't worry.
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Madhupa
March 08, 2019 12:36 PM
Sir,I mailed you mentioning some points,I did not post here because it would be too long to be posted as a comment.. after reading my message Please tell me if any correction ritual is needed. Thank you so much, I am feeling so relieved after seeing your reply.. No words to Thank you... Pranam sir..
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Sundar
August 01, 2021 11:33 AM
Sapindikaranam of my paternal uncle (my father's younger brother), who was a bachelor, falls on the annual sharda day of my father. Can we perform my father's annual sharda after performing Sapindikaranam of my uncle...?
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MANBLUNDER
August 02, 2021 10:24 AM
Only a priest who performs these rituals will be able to tell you the correct position.
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Ramkumar
October 13, 2023 05:10 AM
Respected Sir, I lost my father recently. My wife lives in a different country and is unable to attend the rituals. The priest said that wife's presence is needed to perform the 12th day Sapindikaranam ritual. He said there's no alternative but to postpone the ritual until wife is present. He's pretty strict about it. Please let me know if there's any alternative.
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Krishna
October 14, 2023 02:10 AM
Very sorry to hear about your loss. Please accept our condolences. Check with your priest if she can attend remotely via a video session. A lot of allowances were made during the Covid peak and it is possible to find a priest who may help you out with your situation. Definitely do not postpone the 12th day ceremony at any cost.
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Priya
February 14, 2024 11:02 PM
Hello guruji, My mother-in -law passed away on 24th Jan this year and we have performed all the rituals until the 13th day. The 27th 45th days of oona masikams are coming on weekdays. Since I'm a mother of 2 kids , I'm working as well as my work demands travel a lot. Is it possible that my husband alone can perform.the 27th 45th and 180th day rituals along with his brother? His brother is also married. Please advice if it's absolutely necessary for me to be present.
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pradipta kumar
April 13, 2024 10:04 PM
My mother passed away two years back. My father is alive. Should I perform her Sradha at the end of second year? Thank you.
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Krishna
April 14, 2024 02:04 AM
Generally speaking, it should be your father's duty to perform the rituals. If he is unable to do so, then you may take it up on his behalf and perform the same.
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Ramya
April 24, 2024 11:04 AM
Sir, నా వల్ల బల్లి చనిపోయింది దాని శాంతి కోసం నేను ఏం చేయాలి.
Translation - Sir, a lizard died due to my actions. What can be done towards a peace offering?
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Krishna
April 27, 2024 12:04 AM
Dear Madam, I am very touched by your remorse towards lizards. Most of us simply loathe them and are more than happy to get rid of them by all means, but your remorse speaks of your good heartedness. I would recommend that you perform tarpaṇa for the deceased lizard and consider it as someone close to you and ask the divine grace to allow it to take a higher birth or grant liberation. The tarpaṇa documents are available online from vedicastrologer.org or you may follow any other book or guru given ritual for the same. It is best that you perform the ritual vs delegating it to a priest or someone else to ease your burden. I shall also pray to the divine to ease your pain. It is important to be aware that a soul never dies and moves on in its quest to evolve.
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