Swapna Dutta, my Mother: Chapter Four, Part III

The Śrāddha ceremony for my Mother was performed on Thursday, 8 August 2025 (22 Śrāvaṇa 1432). According to the lunar calendar, the day (tithi) remained under Śukla Chaturdaśī until 1:28 pm, after which Pūrṇimā began at 1:29 pm. Thus, the first part of the Śrāddha took place under the Chaturdaśī tithi, and the remainder under Pūrṇimā.

In the first and second parts of this fourth chapter, I wrote about "Śrāddha and Śraddhā" (Śrāddha and Reverence) and "Ghāṭkāj" (ritualistic water rites) respectively. This third part focuses on the day of the Śrāddha itself.

Viveknagar Kali Temple

The Śrāddha ceremony took place at Viveknagar Kali Temple in the Jadavpur area — a well-known temple in the locality. Originally established as a Kali temple, it is still popularly called Viveknagar Kali Mandir or Kalibari, though the complex now houses idols of several other deities. Its official name is "Viveknagar Devalaya". Founded in 1950 (Bengali year 1357), it is registered as Society No. S/9228.

Viveknagar Kali Temple or Viveknagar Devalaya

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Kali idol inside the temple

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Radhakrishna idols

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There are many memorial plaques on the walls and floors inside the temple.
These plaques carry the memories of many people—many lives.

The Venue for the Śrāddha

For the ceremony, we hired the temple's first-floor space. There were two medium-sized rooms, a connecting balcony, a room to be used as a kitchen, and a toilet. My uncle, Shri Subhabrata Bhattacharyya, took a video of the place two days before the Śrāddha. I'm providing it below, with his voice in Bengali in the background.

Video of Viveknagar temple's first floor (with Bengali audio)
My Mother's Śrāddha was performed here.

Śraddhā — Offering Reverence

The Śrāddha ceremony began at 10:40 am under the guidance of priest Shri Papan Chakraborty. At the start, my uncle and I were present. Following the priest's directions, I started the traditional offerings, chanted mantras, and prayed.

Praṇām

During the Śrāddha, repeated prostrations were offered to Lord Vishnu. The principal mantra was—

Sanskrit: ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय।

Bengali: ॐ নমঃ ভগবতে বাসুদেবায়।

Translation: Salutations to Lord Vāsudeva (Vishnu/Krishna).

After Vishnu, homage was paid to all deities — Lord Shiva, the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Yama, the ancestors (Pitṛs), and the truth-seeking sages.

Prāyaścitta

The Prāyaścitta (repentance) stage involved reciting mantras and resolving that if any mistakes, lapses of attention, or breaches of scripture had occurred during the mourning period, they be forgiven.

Ṣoḍaśa Dāna (Sixteen Offerings)

The next major stage was making sixteen symbolic and essential offerings for the departed's well-being in the afterlife:

1. Rice or staple grain (with five types of sweets)
2. Uttariya cloth (such as a shawl)
3. Water pot (kalaśa)
4. Garments (sari or dhoti)
5. Lamp
6. Vegetables and cooking ingredients — spices, salt, mustard oil
7. Gold (often symbolically as coins)
8. Silver (symbolically as coins)
9. Land (symbolically as coins)
10. Footwear
11. Betel leaves (tāmbūla)
12. Umbrella (chatra)
13. Fragrance (e.g., sandalwood)
14. Garland or white flowers (e.g., tuberose)
15. Fruits (often five kinds favoured by the departed)
16. Bed or bedding

The items for the Ṣoḍaśa Dāna may vary slightly depending on different communities, beliefs, and ritual procedures. These offerings are given for the deceased so that they do not lack anything in their journey to the afterlife. These gifts symbolise life's essentials — just as parents once provided these to their children, the children now ensure the departed parent lacks nothing on the journey beyond.

I don't know the practical use of these things — how the person for whom these items are given will use them. However, from a romantic or humanistic perspective, I find this effort to be very meaningful and touching. 

Ṣoḍaśa Dāna (Sixteen Offerings) for my Mother

Not all Śrāddhas involve Ṣoḍaśa Dāna (sixteen offerings); other types exist, such as Tridāna (three offerings — food, clothing, water), Chaturdāna (four offerings — food, clothing, water, fruit), and royal offer (including cattle, gold, silver, and land). For my Mother's Śrāddha, I performed Ṣoḍaśa Dāna.

Piṇḍadāna

The third stage was Piṇḍadāna — making rice balls with raw rice, sesame seeds, banana, and sweets, offered as sustenance to the soul for strength on its journey. Usually three generations are honoured — the departed, their parents, and grandparents. If anyone in the lineage died tragically or without a Śrāddha, prayers are also made for their peace.

Piṇḍadāna affirms the lineage and bonds between generations.

Here, I was making piṇḍas (sacred riceballs) during the Piṇḍadāna ritual.

Bhagavad Gītā Recitation

On the day of my Mother's Śrāddha, alongside the main ritual of offering respects, an arrangement was made for the recitation of the Bhagavad Gītā. Shri Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, a priest of the Viveknagar Kali Temple, was reciting the Bhagavad Gītā parallel to the Śrāddha ceremony.

Shri Abhijit Mukhopadhyay reciting Bhagavad Gita.

Tributes from Relatives and Acquaintances

Relatives and acquaintances offered floral tributes before my Mother's photograph. 

Floral tributes for my Mother

My cousin sister, Iman Bhattacharyya, played a special role, offering homage and praying for her soul's peace.

Iman Bhattacharyya participated in the Śrāddha and offered tributes to my Mother.
The recitation of the Gītā took place in parallel.

After the main Śrāddha rituals and mantra recitations, a meal was arranged for the relatives, acquaintances, and well-wishers who were present. A total of 72 people were present at my Mother's Śrāddha ceremony, besides the priests and the catering staff. Their presence during this difficult time was deeply supportive The Śrāddha achieved its completeness by bringing everyone together to pray for the peace of my Mother's soul.

Lunch for the participants at the end of the Śrāddha.

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From right to left in the photo are — 
Shri Bapi Das, Shri Nilam Panda, Shri Arka Malik, and me.

Concluding Remarks

I feel a sense of weariness within me. A dull, heavy ache is lingering.

With this, the third part of the fourth chapter — the Day of Śrāddha — comes to an end.

Charaiveti.

স্বপ্না দত্ত, আমার মা (Swapna Dutta, my Mother)

• ● বাংলায় পড়ুন: প্রথম অধ্যায়, দ্বিতীয় অধ্যায়, তৃতীয় অধ্যায় (সংযোজন), চতুর্থ অধ্যায় (প্রথম পরিচ্ছেদ, দ্বিতীয় পরিচ্ছেদ, তৃতীয় পরিচ্ছেদ)
• ● Read in English: First Chapter, Second Chapter, Third Chapter (Addendum), Fourth Chapter (Part I, Part II, Part III)

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