Amavasya — Pitru Tarpan (Ramanandi)

In ancient times there was a devoted son named Shravan Kumar who loved his parents above all else. His elderly parents were blind and had always longed to visit the sacred tirthas of India. Shravan Kumar fashioned a wooden frame with two large baskets — one on each end of a pole — and carried his parents on his own shoulders across the length and breadth of the land, fulfilling their every wish. One evening, near the forest of Ayodhya, his parents grew thirsty. Shravan Kumar set the frame down carefully beneath a tree and walked to the nearby river Saryu to fill a clay pot with water. The sound of water entering the pot echoed in the quiet night. King Dasharatha — father of Lord Rama — was practicing Shabdbhedi Baan that night, the royal art of releasing an arrow guided by sound alone. He heard what he believed was an animal drinking at the river. He drew his bow in the darkness and released. The arrow struck Shravan Kumar who cried out in great pain. Dasharatha rushed to him in horror. The dying boy said — "It is not your arrow that has ended me, O King. It is my own karma. But please, take this water to my parents who are waiting thirsty in the forest. Tell them gently what has happened. Do not let them die without water." Dasharatha carried the water to the blind old parents and told them the truth, his voice breaking. When they heard what had happened, neither could bear the grief. The father said — "Bring me to my son." Dasharatha carried him to where Shravan Kumar lay. The father laid his hands on his son's face and blessed him. Then both parents gave up their lives from grief. With his dying breath the father cursed Dasharatha — "As I am dying consumed by grief for my son, you too shall die consumed by grief for your own son." This curse came to pass many years later — Dasharatha died in great sorrow when Lord Rama was sent into exile. We honour our ancestors on Amavasya with water, sesame seeds, and the tarpan prayer. The pitru — our ancestors — are said to be most accessible to receive and to bless us on this new moon day. As Shravan Kumar carried his parents with pure love, we carry their memory forward with devotion and gratitude.