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What is Pitru Paksha?

Pitru Paksha is the fortnight of the year in which shraddh is performed for the ancestors. It is the dark half of the lunar month of Bhadrapada, from the day after the full moon to the new moon, and it falls in September or October.

पितृ पक्षpitru paksha

the fortnight in which shraddh is performed for the ancestors

DigiKumbh devotee guides•Updated 13 September 2026• 2 min read

Falls inThe dark fortnight of Bhadrapada

In 202627 September to 10 October

The riteShraddh, on each day

Also calledMahalaya

Table of contents

1. When does the fortnight fall?
2. What is done during it?
3. What else is the fortnight called?
4. Frequently asked questions

Section I

When does the fortnight fall?

In the dark half of the lunar month of Bhadrapada, the fortnight that runs from the day after the full moon to the new moon. The Garuda Purana names the start of that fortnight among the occasions for a श्राद्ध shraddh, the rite for the dead, and has a shraddh performed on each of its days, from the first day to the new moon that closes it. By the ordinary calendar the fortnight falls in September or October, and its days move from one year to the next.

Each of those days is a तिथि tithi, a day of the lunar calendar, counted from the new moon and from the full moon rather than from midnight. A tithi can begin and end at any hour of the clock day, so the priest opens a पञ्चाङ्ग panchang, the Hindu calendar of tithis, to find which day of the ordinary calendar a given tithi falls on. The fortnight closes on अमावस्या amavasya, the new moon, the tithi on which the moon is not seen.

In 2026 the fortnight runs from Sunday 27 September to Saturday 10 October, and closes on the amavasya of 10 October. Those are the days the Rashtriya Panchang gives for it. Pitru Paksha 2026, day by day has each of its days with its tithi.

Section II

What is done during it?

A shraddh, on each day. The Garuda Purana has the rite performed on every day of the fortnight, from the first to the new moon. The shraddh itself, who it is for, what is offered and its order as the text gives it, is on the shraddh page.

Which day a family keeps is custom. By custom a family keeps its shraddh on the tithi of the death: a person who died on the fourth tithi of a fortnight has their shraddh on the fourth tithi of Pitru Paksha. The amavasya that closes the fortnight is kept, by custom, for all the ancestors of the family together, including those whose tithi is not known. An ancestor whose tithi is known keeps that tithi each year. The closing amavasya is, in addition, the day kept for whichever are not. That day is called सर्वपितृ अमावस्या Sarva Pitru Amavasya. Tell the priest the tithi, or tell him it is not known, and he sets the day.

Section III

What else is the fortnight called?

Mahalaya, or Mahalaya Paksha. महालय mahalaya is another name for Pitru Paksha, and Mahalaya Amavasya is its last day, the same day as Sarva Pitru Amavasya. Both names mean the same days. Tell the priest whichever name your family uses. The tithi is what he works from.

Section IV

Explore more guides

What is shraddh?

The rite performed on the days of the fortnight, who it is for, what is offered, and its order as the Garuda Purana gives it.

Pitru Paksha 2026, day by day

The fortnight's fourteen days from 27 September to 10 October 2026, each with its tithi from the Rashtriya Panchang.

Aparahna kaal

The part of the day the rite is kept for on each of these days, how the priest finds it from the panchang, and which place's window governs.

What a gotra is

The family line the priest asks for before any rite in the fortnight, and what to do if it is not known.

Glossary of the ancestral rites

Tithi, amavasya, Mahalaya and the other words of the fortnight, each in Devanagari with a plain meaning.

Section V

Frequently asked questions by devotees

Is a shraddh performed on every day of the fortnight?

The Garuda Purana has a shraddh performed on each day of the fortnight, from the first day to the new moon. By custom a family keeps the tithi of the death within the fortnight, and the closing amavasya is kept for all the ancestors together.

Which day of the fortnight does a family keep?

By custom, the tithi of the death. A person who died on the fourth tithi of a fortnight has their shraddh on the fourth tithi of Pitru Paksha. Tell the priest the tithi, and he finds the day of the ordinary calendar from the panchang.

What if the tithi of the death is not known?

By custom the amavasya that closes the fortnight, called Sarva Pitru Amavasya, is kept for all the ancestors together, including those whose tithi is not known. Tell the priest that the tithi is not known and the shraddh is performed on that day.

Does knowing the date of death help if the tithi is not known?

Not on its own. A date on the ordinary calendar is not the tithi, the day of the lunar calendar, and one does not fix the other without a panchang for that year. Tell the priest that the tithi is not known rather than guess at one, and he keeps the shraddh on Sarva Pitru Amavasya. If the tithi becomes known later, tell him that too. Whether the family's shraddh then moves to it is his to decide.