Chaitra Chaudas Mela, Pehowa
religious
When it happens
A three-day fair in spring, timed to the Chaturdashi and Amavasya at the end of the month of Chaitra, so the dates move each year.
Significance
One of very few tirthas in India where shradh and tarpan are performed specifically for those who died by accident or before their time.
Why it's celebrated
Pehowa is the tirtha of ancestors. Tradition holds that King Prithu performed rites here for his father, and the town has been a place of ancestral offering since.
How it's celebrated
Families bathe at the Saraswati Tirtha ghats and perform pind daan and jal tarpan for named ancestors, guided by the town's resident pandas.
Key rituals
Bathing at the ghats, pind daan and jal tarpan for named ancestors.
Beliefs & spiritual meaning
Rites performed here are held to settle the unquiet dead in a way ordinary shradh does not.
History & origins
Pehowa's identity as an ancestral tirtha is ancient, and its pandas have kept written genealogical registers of the families who come.
Frequently asked
When is the Chaitra Chaudas Mela at Pehowa?+
Over three days in spring, timed to the Chaturdashi and Amavasya at the end of the month of Chaitra, so the dates move each year with the lunar calendar.
What makes Pehowa different from other tirthas?+
It is the tirtha of ancestors, and one of very few places in India where shradh and tarpan are performed specifically for those who died by accident or before their time. The town's pandas keep hand-written genealogical registers of the families who come to perform these rites — some going back generations.
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