Saṅghāta-śrāddha
By Swami Harshananda
Saṅghāta-śrāddha literally means ‘śrāddha in a group’.
Śrāddha[1] is a compulsory religious rite performed for the benefit of the dead relatives. Sometimes it may so happen that more than one relative may die on the same day but at different times.
In such a case, the śrāddhas for all of them are performed on the same day individually one after the other. The order of the śrāddha is same as the order of their death. If a group of relatives die together as in the case of an accident then the order depends on the blood-relationship.
For instance, if a person’s wife, son, brother and paternal uncle dies at the same time, then the order of the śrāddhas would be for: the wife, son, brother and uncle one after the other. Such śrāddhas are called ‘saṅghāta-śrāddha’.
References[edit]
- ↑ Śrāddha means obsequial ceremony.
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore