Why Amavasya is considered auspicious

Amavasya, the new-moon day, is traditionally held to be the day when ancestors are believed to be closest to the earthly realm, making it a naturally fitting occasion for offering Shraddh and Tarpan. This is one of the reasons many families observe a monthly Amavasya tarpan as an ongoing practice, rather than waiting only for the annual Shraddh date.

Sarvapitru Amavasya — the catch-all date

Sarvapitru Amavasya, the final day of Pitru Paksha, carries particular weight. It is traditionally treated as a catch-all date for any ancestor whose exact date of death or corresponding tithi isn't known with certainty — including ancestors from generations further back, or those for whom family records were simply never kept. Performing Shraddh on this single day is considered sufficient to honour all such ancestors together.

This is also why Sarvapitru Amavasya tends to be one of the busier dates for families visiting Gaya — it works for almost any family's situation, regardless of how complete their ancestral records are, which makes it a genuinely practical choice rather than only a symbolic one.

  • Amavasya — traditionally when ancestors are held to be closest to the earthly realm
  • Sarvapitru Amavasya — the final day of Pitru Paksha, and a reliable fallback date
  • Monthly Amavasya tarpan — an ongoing practice some families maintain year-round

Not sure which date applies to your family's Shraddh?

Call Pt. Pritam

If your family isn't sure which date to use

It's more common than families expect to not have a precise death date or tithi for an ancestor, particularly from earlier generations. In these cases, Sarvapitru Amavasya is a dependable choice, and Pt. Pritam Ji can confirm it's the right fit for your family's situation before you travel.

Some families also ask whether performing Shraddh on Amavasya replaces the need for an annual Shraddh on the ancestor's specific tithi — it doesn't, where that tithi is known and already being observed. Sarvapitru Amavasya exists alongside individual tithi-based Shraddh rather than instead of it, and the two serve slightly different purposes: one remembers a specific person on their specific day, while the other is a wider, more inclusive observance for the whole ancestral line, known and unknown alike.