MAHALAYAM. YAJUR VEDAM AAPASTHAMBA SOOTHRAM IYERS.
The fortnight (krishna patcham) From the first day after full moon in the month of bhaadhrapadam is known as the Mahalaya paksham,.Every day during this fortnight , rites to please the fore fathers (pithrus). should be performed.Those who are not able to do so can perform the same on the day of bharani star, vyadheepadam, astami, dwadasi, or atleast on one day. If it is not possible to do the same in this fortnight, they may be performed on any day, before the first day of the month of karthigai.
If they are not performed, the curse of pithrus may follow.Those who have lost their father will perform tharpanam on the day (thithi) coinciding with the day of the death of father. (This hirnaya sratham could also be done till the fifith day after mahalaya amavasai depending on circumstances. Those whose mothers are alive will perform hiranya sratham with four vedic priest. If both parents are not alive, it wil be performed with 5 sastrigals/ vedic priest.Atleast 2 sartrigals minimum is required.
This shradham can be performed in two ways, one by offering dakshinai(cash)/fees,only to the sastrigals and in addition , by feeding them as well. For this, the ingredients should be fried and ground,afresh as for "samaradhanai" and items prepared with payasam, vadai, some sweets etc, and served.. Those who performs this sratham will take only light tiffin during that night. for persons doing daily tharpanam for 16 days daily tiffin at night, and same tiffin only for his wife also.
If it is not done on the thithi of the death of father/ mother it can be done on madhyashtami, maha bharani, gajachaya, maha vyatheepadham days, provided the birth star of the kartha, his wife's his son's is not there on that day. Pithrus are expecting upto deepavali amavasai for food by doing mahalaya paksha sratham.
Mahalaya/hiranya sratham must be done only from chathruthy onwards. If the mother's/ father"s sratham comes during this mahalaya paksham you must do mahalaya paksha hiranyan sratham only after this father"s/ mother"s anuual ceremony sratham. For sanyasis sratham must be done during mahalaya paksham only on dwadasi day. On all other days during this paksham you should not do for sanyasis. You can do for others on dwadasi day.
For persons who met their unnatural death ( accidents, poison drinking, suicide, snake biting, fire, drowning, etc.) mahalaya / hiranya sratham must be done only on (14th)chathurdasi day. for others you shuold not do on chathurdasi day.and also for these unnatural death persons you should not do on other days.
Those who are doing paksha mahalayam tharpanam ( for 16 days daily) on amavasai day they must do first amavasai tharpanam and then do mahalaya tharpanam.. Even though there is general rule that one should not do two tharpanams a day, this is exemption, because they have to do for karunya pithrukkal tharpanam on that day as they are doing 16 days daily tharpanam. Widowers can do tharpanam for their wife in these mahalaya tharpanam. for 16 days, they will get some mental satisfaction .
It is not compulsary that once you have started doing 16 days nithya tharpanam this year , you must do every year like this. You can do tharpanam on some specific days also like maha BHARANI, MADHYASTAMI, VYATHEEPADHAM, . Now you have to do sankalpam like this: ""aashaadyadhi panchamaa para paksha prayuktha punyah kaalae mahalaya sraadhae mahabarani punyah kaalae/madhyashtami punyah kaalae/ vyatheepadha punyahkaalae/ thila tharpanam karishyae.
Persons who are doing only one day in this paksham must say ""sakruth mahalaya sraatham"" during sankalpam. those who are doing for 15/16 days sankalpam must be like this : ubhaya vamsa pithroonaam, pithruvya maathulaatheenaam, sarvesham kaarunya pithronaam cha akshaya thrupthiyartham, kanyaagathey savithari aashaadyadhi pancha maa para paksha punyah kaalae paksha mahalayae prathama dhina/2/3/4/etc; thila tharpanam karishyae.
Persons who are doing daily for 16 days tharpanam must, on any one day feed at least 2 sastrigals after duly done aavaahanam on them.with samaradhanai samayal.
Due to unforeseen circumstances if you are not able to do anna sratham for this year you can do mahalaya sratham with hiranya roopam (AAvaahanam and dhakshinai only). From next year you can do anna mahalaya sratham.
Kindly add some few raw rice along with black ellu on the following days: sunday, tuesday, friday, sapthami, ashtami, sukla paksha thrayodasi, on your birth star day, and at night, on sandhya kaalam ( during solar/lunar eclipse). and after doing naandhi sratham ( marriage/ poonal Times) for six months from marriage/ poonal days you should use rice and ellu for tharpanam, and use only arugan grass instead of dharbhai for koorcham, pavithram, and kattai pillu.
Pour 2 litres of water for amavasai tharpanam and for mahalaya paksha tharpanam use/pour 4 litres of water. Rishis were kind enough to give time for tharpanam from 8-30 a.m. to 1 p.m.in kali yuga as we have to go to work for earning purposes.
In mahalaya tharpana vidhi thread i have given details. Feel free to ask for doubts. Retired persons can do daily tharpanam. For office goers they can do at 8-30 a.m.
The shadow of suryan is falling on suryan from 10-30 to 1 p.m.. so the heat of sun will be less at this time for sun which enables him to observe others performances and to give his blessings. You know how much far away we are here from sun and his heat on april may months.
Nirnaya sindhu, shanthy kusumakaram, shanthy rathnaagaram books etc; are also giving these informations.After going thru these and other books, Srivatsa soma deva sarma, Mayuram ramanatha deekshathar and other scholors are writing these in thier books. I am only copying those informations here. Each rishi will give their opinion at their time they are writing. and so from each rishi, the timings is also changing which you will found here.