Mahalaya is an important day for Hindus the world over. It marks the end of the pitru-paksh (literally, ‘fortnight of the ancestors’) and the start of the devi-paksh (fortnight of the goddess).

 In southern and western India, pitru-paksh is the fifteen-day period of the waning moon in the Hindu lunar month of Bhadrapada (September-October). Due to a variation in calendars, in northern and eastern India, and in Nepal, this period is considered to occur in the month of Hindu lunar month of Ashvin – which sounds confusing, especially because in practice this is only a difference in nomenclature! Pitru-paksh takes place during the same 15-day period for all Hindus.  The autumn equinox also falls within this period.

 During this period, Hindus pay homage to their ancestors through the performance of ‘shraaddha’, a ceremony which honours the dead through elaborate ritual prayers and offerings of food.  In Hindu belief, the shraaddha ceremony, which must be performed by the son, is essential to ensure the soul’s salvation.  Since the pitru-paksh is connected with performing rites for the dead, it is considered an inauspicious period; during this fortnight no important ventures are undertaken.

It is believed that when the hero Karna died, he went to heaven, where Indra, the king of the gods, offered him gold as food. Of course, Karna could not eat gold, and asked Indra why he was not being given real food. Indra explained to Karna that he had never made an offering of food to his ancestors, even though he had given away gold and jewels in charity. 

 ‘I did not know who my ancestors were,’ protested Karna, ‘so how could I make any offerings to them?’   Karna had a point, for though a noble prince, he had been cast away by his mother, the princess Kunti, at birth. He had been found and brought up by the royal charioteer and had no idea of his birth or ancestry almost till his end. 

Indra, in sympathy, decided to give the hero another chance; he sent him back to earth for a period of fifteen days, during which he could perform the correct rites in honour of his ancestors, offering them food and water. This fifteen day period is called the pitru-paksh.

Mahalaya, which falls on amavasya, or the night of the new moon, marks the end of the pitru-paksh. Although the shraaddha rites are performed throughout the preceding fortnight, it is considered especially important to perform them on this last day. Also, in case a man has forgotten or been unable to perform a shraaddha for his ancestors, or a man has been particularly neglectful of his ancestors, he can perform a shraaddha to compensate for the forgotten ceremonies on Mahalaya day.  After Mahalaya, new ventures can once more be undertaken.

In Bengal, in eastern India, Mahalaya also marks beginning of the devi-paksha, and the day that the goddess Durga begins her journey from her mountain abode where she lives with her consort, the god Shiva, to her parents’ home. Preparations begin all over Bengal and eastern India to welcome the goddess in the ten-day long Durga Puja festival. The day after Mahalaya is the first day of the Pujas.

All over Bengal, Mahalaya begins with the recitation of the Chandipath, or invocation to the goddess in her form as Chandi, the fierce, who slew the demon Mahishasura and rid the world of evil. For this act, Durga is also called Mahishasurmardini, the slayer of Mahishasura.