Haridwar (Uttarakhand): Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions in place, Purohits or priests in Haridwar are offering online facilities for performing the traditional Hindu rituals such as Pind Daan, Shraadh and Tarpan for their ancestors with the help of social media platforms like Facebook.
The Hindu priests have made online arrangements to perform these vital rituals for the peace of the soul of their loved ones.
It is worth mentioning that ‘Tarpaṇa’ is a term in the Vedic practice which refers to an offering made to divine entities. Similarly, ‘Pind Daan’ is a ritual which is conducted after the cremation of an individual. Hindus believe that ‘Pind Daan’ is a must after the death of their loved ones. Śrāddha is a Sanskrit word which literally means anything or any act that is performed with all sincerity and absolute faith. In Hindu religion, ‘Shraadh’ is the ritual that one performs to pay homage to one’s ancestors.
The trained purohits help people perform these rituals amid the recitation of mantras and shlokas and other holy activities involved therein.
According to religious beliefs, it is very important to perform Shraddha of the ancestors during the month of Pitrapaksha.
Pind Daan, Tarpan and so on are performed by the people for the peace of their ancestors. Every year during Pitrapaksha, a large number of people reach Haridwar to do Pind Daan of their ancestors.
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Vipul Sharma of Haridwar, who helps people with ancient traditional Hindu rituals, says that ‘Pind Daan’ and ‘Tarpan’ of ancestors can be done through various social media platforms during the Pitrapaksha.
Many people make calls to them every day. So far, at least 25 families have performed ‘Pind Daan’ online for their ancestors. Sharma says that people are getting good feelings after conducting Shraadh and Pind Daan online.
Ankit Sharma, a Tirth Purohit, says that performing ‘Pind Daan’ online is in consonance with the scriptures.
During the online puja, people are at their homes.
During normal time, the person who performs the Pind Daan has to be physically present at the place where the ritual has to be performed. The only difference between the real Pind Daan and the virtual one is that we bring the materials to be used in the ritual and conduct ‘Pind Daan’ on behalf of those who want the ritual to be done for their ancestors. It is as fruitful as the ‘Pind Daan’ performed by being physically present in Haridwar. In both the case, puja is properly performed, adhering to all religious norms including the recitation of mantras and shlokas
The arrangement is equally satisfying for those who are unable to perform such rituals by coming to Haridwar in view of the pandemic. They get Pind Daan and Shraadh done during ‘Pitrapaksha’ for their ancestors from their home.
