Deepavali Padayal

Deepavali Padaiyal, to begin with, is not prescribed in the Hindu scriptures.

Whether one considers the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, or Puranas such as the Skanda Purana, Srimad Bhagavatam, Garuda Purana, Shakti Bhagavatam, Siva Purana, or any other authentic Hindu scriptures, none has insisted that a prayer should be conducted for or in honour of one's deceased loved ones, including parents.

It has, however, been a practice, particularly among Tamil Hindus in Singapore and Malaysia, to observe the prayer during Deepavali. As the belief goes, they lay out on banana leaves the deceased's favourite foods, a set of new clothes for them, and a large and sumptuous variety of Deepavali sweetmeats such as Murukku and Jelabi, and even popular local non-vegetarian dishes such as Kueh Mamood, Dahlia, and Kueh Tart, in front of the deceased persons' photographs. Hindu deities are not included in this prayer.

Timing, in this regard, varies from family to family: some do it on the eve of Deepavali, but the majority conduct the prayers a few days before Deepavali—one, three, or five days before the festival. The Hindus who observe this tradition avowedly believe that their dead loved ones would partake of the offering. At the end of the padaiyal, the family thus consumes the ort (=remnant) of the offering to their loved ones, whom they believe to have accepted it.

There is no gainsaying that the intention behind this practice and belief is love and sincerity, and is therefore acceptable. The practice in itself, for all it is worth, has no scriptural or spiritual significance in Hinduism.

Deepavali Padaiyal, as has been demonstrated, is primarily a regional, cultural folk practice that has been informed by exogenous influences, but has been unique to South Indian (especially Tamil) communities. It has no scriptural mandate. Hindu scriptures have not prescribed this practice at all.

Why Offering Food and Conducting Prayers to the Dead on Deepavali Is Wrong

According to Hindu scriptures, viz., the Garuda Purana and Markandeya Purana, there is a specific, sacred window when the gates of Pitru Loka (the realm of the ancestors) open, allowing departed souls to travel to Earth, visit their families, and receive sustenance. Deepavali is not the time to begin with.

The Allowed Days: Pitru Paksha

This period is known as Pitru Paksha (or Shradh), a 16-day lunar period that takes place every year during the waning phase of the moon (Krishna Paksha) in the Hindu months of Bhadrapada or Ashvin (usually falling between September and October). This comes months before Deepavali.

Scriptures state that Lord Yama (the god of death) releases the souls at sunrise during these 16 days. The spirits reside close to their descendants' homes to accept offerings. The final and most significant day of this period is Mahalaya Amavasya (or Sarva Pitru Amavasya), a universal day dedicated to honouring all ancestors, even if their specific dates of death are unknown or forgotten.

What Kind of Offerings Can Be Given?

Offerings made during Pitru Paksha are centred around quenching the spiritual thirst and hunger of the departed. The offerings are broadly divided into three elements:

1. Ritual Offerings

Pinda (Food Balls): These are symbolic balls prepared primarily from cooked rice, barley flour, black sesame seeds, ghee, and honey. They are meticulously shaped and offered to provide spiritual form and nourishment to the soul.

Tarpan (Water Offering): Ancestral souls are believed to experience intense thirst. Descendants perform Tarpan by pouring water mixed with black sesame seeds and barley (often through the thumb, while facing south, a direction consecrated to the ancestors).

2. Traditional Cooked Meals (Shradh Bhoj)

When preparing a meal to serve to the ancestors (and later to priests, the needy, or family members), the food must be strictly Sattvik (pure and clean).

Kheer (Payasam): Rice pudding made with cow's milk and sugar. This is considered the most sacred "ancestral soul food" and is central to the ritual.

Pooris and Seasonal Vegetables: Simple, freshly cooked flatbreads and vegetables.

Lentils or Khichdi: Humble staple foods that denote simplicity.

Ancestral Favourites: Many families cook one or two specific vegetarian dishes or sweets that their departed loved one particularly enjoyed when they were alive.

Strictly Avoid: The food must be cooked entirely without onion, garlic, eggs, or meat, as these are non-Sattvik and are believed to disturb the spiritual peace required for the rituals.

3. Serving Through Nature (The Panchabali)

Hinduism posits that departed souls cannot consume food directly, so they accept the essence of the food through specific living creatures. This is yet another reason why Deepavali offerings to the dead are unacceptable and even wrong. Portions of the cooked food are traditionally set aside and fed to:

Crows: Widely regarded as the primary messengers of Yama or the physical representatives of the ancestors. A crow eating the food is a sign that the offering was accepted.

Cows, dogs, and ants: Fed to clear karmic debts and invoke blessings.

What Is Happening During Deepavali Padaiyal?

Departing far from what the scriptures have prescribed, Tamil Hindus in Singapore and Malaysia not only conduct prayers for the dead during Deepavali, which has been shown above to be an unauthorised day for the souls to accept our offerings, but also engage in heterodox practices such as offering non-vegetarian food (like chicken, mutton, or fish) to the dead.

It has to be reinforced quite forcefully that Deepavali itself is not an ancestor-rites festival sanctioned in the scriptures. Its textual themes are Lakshmi worship, Narakasura's defeat by Krishna (the Tamil tradition's focus), Rama's return to Ayodhya (more North Indian), and the Yama Deepam observance on Trayodashi in some traditions.

However much we cherish good intentions, if they do not meet the standards of truth, they are bound not to produce any effect, and in some cases, they may even harm one. Then it is not right to blame the intentions solely when one has not undertaken the right actions to bring one's efforts to fruition.