Mahalaya Amavasya மகாளய அமாவாசை

Every year

About the festival

Mahalaya Amavasya is the new-moon day that closes Pitru Paksha, the fortnight dedicated to ancestors, and is meant for all ancestors regardless of the day on which they died.¹

In Tamil Nadu it is regarded as especially significant among the year's new-moon days for remembering ancestors, alongside Thai and Aadi Amavasai.^2,3

Families perform tarpanam (offerings of water and sesame seeds) for their ancestors, often after a ritual bath at the sea, rivers or temple tanks such as Agni Theertham at Rameswaram and the Cauvery ghats at Srirangam.^2,3

When it falls: Mahalaya Amavasya is the new moon (Amavasya) in the Tamil month of Purattasi that ends Pitru Paksha, the dark fortnight of the lunar month Bhadrapada in the amanta reckoning.^1,2,3

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Pitru Paksha
2. dtnext.in
3. dtnext.in