Pind Daan in Varanasi

Pind Daan samagri list

• Rice or barley flour
• Black sesame seeds (til)
• Ghee and honey
• Kusha grass
• Ganga jal
• Milk and curd
• White flowers
• Tulsi leaves
• Janeu (for the performer, as per custom)
• Leaf plates (pattal) or dona
• Chandan and akshat
• Diya, cotton wicks and incense
• White cloth for the performer, as per custom
• Fruits and sweets for offering

The Pandit confirms the final list for your family's vidhi, and can arrange the samagri in Varanasi on request.

Pind Daan vidhi, step by step

1. 1Guidance Before the Day. The Pandit speaks with the family to understand whom the rite is for, the family’s tradition, and practical arrangements.
2. 2Purification and Sankalp. The performer bathes or purifies with Ganga jal, and takes a sankalp with the names and gotra of the departed and the family.
3. 3Invocation of the Pitrus. Prayers are offered to Lord Vishnu and the ancestors are respectfully invoked with kusha grass and sesame.
4. 4Preparing the Pindas. Pindas are prepared from rice or barley flour, black sesame, ghee and honey, as per custom.
5. 5Offering the Pindas. The pindas are offered with mantras, water, flowers and sesame, remembering each generation by name.
6. 6Tarpan. Water mixed with sesame is offered to the ancestors, often while standing near or in the Ganga.
7. 7Visarjan and Daan. The pindas are respectfully immersed or offered as per tradition, and food or daan is given as the family wishes.