Tarpaṇa Vidhi

Tarpaṇa Vidhi, “the rite of water offerings”

Tarpaṇa is the rite of offering water with sesame (tila), kuśa grass and mantras to the devas, the ṛshis and the pitṛs (the departed ancestors). The Garuḍa Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 215, gives the full order of tarpaṇa. The offering goes first to the devas, then to the ṛshis, then to three generations of the father’s line and three generations of the mother’s line. The fourteen names of Yama must also be recited. The rite brings satisfaction to all the realms and welfare to the performer’s lineage. The Vāmana Purāṇa places tarpaṇa in the daily order of sadācāra, after the bath, tells of the tarpaṇa of Prahlāda and of Bhārgava Rāma, and names many tīrthas of Kurukshetra where tarpaṇa to the pitṛs bears great fruit.

The Agni Purāṇa gives its own full order of tarpaṇa, taught by Parameśvara to Skanda (Chapter 72): to the devatās through the deva-tīrtha of the hand, to the deva-gaṇas, to the eight ṛshis, to the munis beginning with Sanaka, to all beings, to the divine pitṛs and one’s own pitṛs, and to all the departed, the kinsmen, the ācāryas, the directions and their lords, the siddhas, the mātṛkās, the grahas and the rākshasas. It places tarpaṇa after the bath (Chapters 22, 155), at Gayā before the piṇḍa (Chapter 115), in the rites of consecration (Chapter 96), and after japa, one tenth of the japa being offered as homa and as tarpaṇa (Chapter 293).

The three-fold order

Tarpaṇa follows a fixed order. Deva-tarpaṇa comes first, ṛshi-tarpaṇa second and pitṛ-tarpaṇa third. Each offering is made with water held in the añjali (the cupped palms) and released with the proper mantra.

Deva-tarpaṇa

The offerings go to the chief devatās, including the Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras and their consort forms. The mantra is:

Oṃ devatās tṛpyatām

This means: “Om, may the devatās be satisfied.” Each deva receives three añjalis of water, offered through the fingers. The pitṛ offerings are different: they pass through the space between the thumb and the index finger.

Ṛshi-tarpaṇa

Next the seven ṛshis and the progenitors of knowledge are honoured. The standard mantra has this form:

Oṃ [ṛshi-name] tṛpyatām

This means: “Om, may [name of the ṛshi] be satisfied.”

The Barhishad pitṛs are included here by name. These are the ancestors who performed the rites of the sacred fire (agni). The key mantra for this class is:

Oṃ Barhishadaḥ pitaras tṛpyatām

This means: “Om, may the Barhishad pitṛs be satisfied.”

Pitṛ-tarpaṇa

The fourteen names of Yama

Before the pitṛ offerings, the fourteen names of Yama are recited. Yama is the ruler of the ancestors and the dharmarāja (king of dharma) of the departed. Each name is a mantra-offering in itself.

1. Yamāya: Yama, the restrainer
2. Dharmarājāya: the king of dharma
3. Mṛtyave: Death itself
4. Antakāya: the Ender
5. Vaivasvatāya: the son of Vivasvat (Sūrya)
6. Kālāya: Time
7. Sarvabhūtakshayāya: the destroyer of all beings
8. Audumbarāya: the one of the udumbara tree
9. Dudhnāya (Dadhñāya): the shaker
10. Nīlāya: the dark one
11. Parameshṭhine: the supreme one
12. Vṛkodarāya: wolf-bellied (a fierce form)
13. Citrāya: the variegated one
14. Citraguptāya: Citragupta, the keeper of all records

Tarpaṇa for three generations on the father’s side

The offerings then go to three generations on the father’s side, and each ancestor is named:

• Father (pitā)
• Paternal grandfather (pitāmaha)
• Paternal great-grandfather (prapitāmaha)

For each of them, three añjalis of water mixed with sesame (tila) are offered. The water is released through the tīrtha, the space between the thumb and the index finger. This is the pitṛ-tīrtha.

Tarpaṇa for three generations on the mother’s side

The same pattern is followed for three generations on the mother’s side:

• Maternal grandfather (mātāmaha)
• Maternal great-grandfather (the father of the mātāmaha)
• Maternal great-great-grandfather (the grandfather of the mātāmaha)

Ślesha-jala for the wider kin

Some members of the clan are apautrika. They died without sons, so no direct descendant offers to them. For them ślesha-jala is given. This is water offered with a prayer of union and inclusion. It is given so that no ātmā in the lineage is left without sustenance.

Materials and posture

• Water (jala): clean, and preferably from a sacred source or tīrtha.
• Sesame (tila): mixed into the water for the pitṛ offerings. Sesame is most dear to the pitṛs.
• Kuśa grass (darbha): held in the hand. Its sharp tips purify the offering.
• Añjali: the cupped palms. The direction of the tilt differs. For the devas it is the finger side, for the ṛshis it is the finger side, and for the pitṛs it is the thumb side, which is the pitṛ-tīrtha.
• Direction: the performer faces east for deva-tarpaṇa, north for ṛshi-tarpaṇa and south for pitṛ-tarpaṇa.

Per Vāmana Purāṇa

Tarpaṇa in the daily rites and after a death

In the sadācāra that the ṛshis taught to the rākshasa king Sukeśī, tarpaṇa follows the morning sandhyāvandana and the bath: the householder offers the water of tarpaṇa to the devas and the pitṛs, and then performs homa (Chapter 14). At a death, those of the same gotra offer water (jala-tarpaṇa) after the cremation; and once the departed one, after the sapiṇḍīkaraṇa at the end of the year, is freed from the preta state and has become a pitṛ, the rites the Veda enjoins are performed and tarpaṇa is offered (Chapter 15).

Prahlāda’s tarpaṇa on his tīrtha-yātrā

On his tīrtha-yātrā Prahlāda came into the presence of the horse-faced Vishṇu who bears the name Kṛshṇa. He bathed in the holy lake there, offered tarpaṇa to the devas and pitṛs, and worshipped the Hayagrīva mūrti. At the holy kshetra of Hastināpura he bathed according to vidhi, worshipped Cakrapāṇi Govinda, who holds the cakra, and offered tarpaṇa and the rest (Chapter 52).

Bhārgava Rāma’s tarpaṇa at Rāmahrada

At Rāmahrada in Kurukshetra the greatly radiant Bhārgava Rāma slew the kshatriyas and filled five lakes with their blood, and with those waters he gave tarpaṇa to his fathers and grandfathers. His pitṛs, supremely pleased, said to him: “Rāma of great valour, we are pleased with your valour and with your bhakti towards the pitṛs. Ask what vara you want. May good come to you.” Rāma raised his hands, bowed to the pitṛ-devatās standing in the sky, and asked that by their grace he might again gain tapo-siddhi, that the pāpa that had come to him from slaying the kshatriyas in an excess of rage be destroyed, and that by their power the five lakes become famous as holy tīrthas.

The pitṛs gave him abhaya (freedom from fear) with love and granted it all. By his special pitṛ-bhakti his tapas would grow; the pātaka of slaying the kshatriyas had gone, for those kshatriyas were slain by their own evil deeds; and the lakes he had made would become tīrthas. “Whoever plunges into these lakes and offers tarpaṇa to his pitṛs, his pitṛs will fulfil his desires, and he will gain eternal svarga.” Having given these varas, the pitṛ-devatās vanished. One who bathes in these Rāma-sarovaras as a brahmacārī, with niyama, and worships Rāma, gains much gold (Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 14).

Tarpaṇa at the tīrthas of Kurukshetra

Per Agni Purāṇa

The order of tarpaṇa taught to Skanda

In the Agni Purāṇa, Parameśvara tells Skanda of the baths, the sandhyā and pūjā, and then says: “Now I tell the rite of tarpaṇa.”

1. To the devatās: tarpaṇa is given through the deva-tīrtha of the hand, saying their name-mantras. To Śiva the mantra is oṃ hūṃ śivāya svāhā, and to the other devatās likewise, with svāhā after their names. Then the nyāsa of the heart, head, śikhā, armour, eyes and weapon is done.
2. To the deva-gaṇas, with namaḥ after their names (oṃ hāṃ … namaḥ): the Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Viśvedevas, the Maruts, the Bhṛgus and the Aṅgirases.
3. To the ṛshis: wearing the yajñopavīta round the neck like a garland, through the ṛshi-tīrtha, to Atri, Vasishṭha, Pulastya, Kratu, Bharadvāja, Viśvāmitra, Pracetas and Marīci.
4. To the munis beginning with Sanaka, two añjalis each, with vashaṭ after their names: Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanātana, Sanatkumāra, Kapila, Pañcaśikha and Ṛbhu. The water is given from the roots of the little fingers, with the hands held close together.
5. To all beings, with the mantra oṃ hāṃ sarvebhyo bhūtebhyo vashaṭ.
6. To the divine pitṛs: wearing the yajñopavīta over the right shoulder (prācīnāvītī), water with sesame is offered three times each from the root and tip of a kuśa folded in two, with svadhā, to Kavyavāhana, Anala, Soma, Yama, Aryaman, the Agnishvāttas, the Barhishads and the Ājyapas.
7. To one’s own pitṛs: oṃ hāṃ īśānāya pitre svadhā to the father, and likewise to the grandfather and the great-grandfather.
8. To all the departed, with svadhā: to the pitṛs, the grandfathers, the great-grandfathers and the great-great-grandfathers; to the mothers; to the maternal grandfathers, great-grandfathers and great-great-grandfathers; to all the pitṛs; to all the kinsmen (jñātis); to all the ācāryas; to the directions and the lords of the directions; to the siddhas, the mātṛkās, the grahas and the rākshasas.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 72

Tarpaṇa after the bath

In the rule of the bath before yāga and pūjā, Nārada teaches that after the arghya and the japa of the twelve-syllable mantra, the devotee does tarpaṇa in order: first to the Yogapīṭha, then to the other devatās, to the mantras, to the devatās up to the dikpālas, to the ṛshis, to the hosts of pitṛs, to men, and to all beings down to the unmoving ones. Then he sits, does aṅga-nyāsa, and enters the house of the rite.

In the rules of conduct that Pushkara teaches Paraśurāma, deva-tarpaṇa and pitṛ-tarpaṇa are done while wringing out the garments after the bath, and then the water-añjali is offered with the Purusha sūkta. When approaching any river, one should not cross it without doing tarpaṇa to the devatās and the pitṛs.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 22, 155

Tarpaṇa at Gayā

At Gayā, when the performer gives tarpaṇa to the devas, the pitṛs and the others, he holds the thought: “I satisfy all the devas who are in svarga, in the antariksha and on the earth.” Then he gives the piṇḍas.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 115

Tarpaṇa in the consecration of a liṅga

In the adhivāsana before the installation of a Śiva-liṅga, Parameśvara teaches that the ācārya, having worshipped Parameśvara, does mantra-tarpaṇa in the Śiva-fire. In the kuṇḍa he worships the Ādhāra-śakti and does tarpaṇa; then he worships the tattva, the tattveśvara, the mūrti and the mūrtīśvara with ghee and the rest and does tarpaṇa to them, and then tarpaṇa with the Vedas and their aṅgas.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 96

Tarpaṇa after japa

In the rules of mantra that Agnideva teaches Vasishṭha Maharshi, one tenth of the japa should be done as homa, and one tenth as tarpaṇa. When no special substance is named, ghee is used in the homa. One who cannot do homa should do a tenth more japa instead.

Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 293

Sources

• Garuḍa Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, Chapter 215
• Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 14–15, 52
• Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 14–16, 18, 24
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 22, 72, 96, 115, 155, 293