Shloka 60
Description of the Pilgrimage to the Sacred Tīrthas
Kurukṣetra-yātrā-krama
तस्य पापं क्षयं याति पितॄणां श्राद्धतो गतिः । नभस्ये मासि कृष्णे तु पितृपक्षे महालये ॥ ६० ॥
tasya pāpaṃ kṣayaṃ yāti pitṝṇāṃ śrāddhato gatiḥ | nabhasye māsi kṛṣṇe tu pitṛpakṣe mahālaye || 60 ||
By that act of śrāddha, his sins are destroyed, and through the śrāddha the Pitṛs, the ancestors, attain their onward course. This is especially so in the dark fortnight of the month of Nabhasya—during Pitṛpakṣa, the Mahālaya period.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)
Vrata: Pitṛpakṣa/Mahālaya śrāddha (seasonal observance)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It teaches that performing śrāddha—especially in Pitṛpakṣa (Mahālaya)—purifies the performer by destroying pāpa and also benefits the pitṛs by supporting their gati (progress to a better state).
While focused on ritual dharma, it aligns with bhakti by emphasizing faithful, reverent offerings (śraddhā) that uphold cosmic and familial obligations—an expression of devotion through duty to pitṛs and sacred order.
Kalpa (ritual procedure) and Jyotiṣa (sacred timing): it specifies the ritual window—Nabhasya/Bhādrapada, Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa, Pitṛpakṣa/Mahālaya—as especially efficacious for śrāddha.