The Dark fortnight of Bhadrapada after the Proshtapadi purnima ( this is designated as Aswina krishna in north Indian calendars where Pournami is taken as beginning of the month), is called Mahalaya fortnight or the fortnight of the manes( pitrupaksha). Sraddha in honour of the forefathers in the paternal, maternal lineage and also in honour of relatives who have significant influence in one’s life, for example, father in law mother in law shall be performed during this fortnight. People who are prosperous and who can afford to do so shall perform 16 Mahalayas starting from Krishna paksha pratipada till Amavasya thithi. People who are less capable shall perform Mahalayas starting from Panchami or shasti or ashtami upto Amavasya. Even lesser capable persons shall perform mahalaya shradha at least one day during the paksha. The one day thus chosen can be one’s fathers or mothers death tithi.
Now I give below three very important days in this paksha for the benefit of our readers. The three days are Ninth , Thirteenth and Fourteenth days of the fortnight. from full moon (Navami, Trayodasi and Chaturdasi).
On Navami day ( ninth day from full moon) , the sraddha of all women of the family ( like grandmother, sister, mother’s or father’s sister), who do not have sons and who preceded their husbands in their death, shall be performed. This navami is therefore called Avidhava Navami and here the sraddha is discontinued after the death of their husbands. For this reason the husband shall perform a sraddha for his deceased wife on Navami if they don’t have a son. In this Avidhava Navami sraddha, sumangali [Woman whose husband is alive is called suvasini, sumangali or suhagan] women shall be fed along with the Brahmins. “In the sraddha of a woman who dies before her husband or along with her husband, sumangalis have a right to sit along brahmanas for the feast” are the words of Markandeya.
The sraddha to be performed on trayodasi or triyodasi joined with magha nakshatra is considered mandatory ( nityasraddha) . Even magha nakshatra alone can be used for sraddha. Various books praise the benefits of this sraddha . A householder having sons or childless along with his wife shall perform sraddha for paternal line, maternal line, uncles, father-in-law, mother-in-law with no rice ball offering. Optionally he can do tarpana etc like darsa and only perform feeding of five Brahmins. The food should necessarily contain some sweet dish like payasam. One shall eat after pleasing the Brahmins with dakshina etc. When Sun is in Hasta nakshatra and the moon is in Magha nakshatra on this trayodasi day it is termed as Gajachaya. Performing sraddha on such a day is considered very holy. Sraddha sagar says the viswadeva by name of Doorilochana are invoked in trayodasi sraddha and that all brothers shall come together to perform the sraddha at the same place.
On Chaturdasi day, sraddha may be performed in honour of father, grandfather or great grandfather who lost his life by weapon, poison, fire, water, horned animals or snakes. The day is therefore termed as Sastrahata mahalaya. If they have died together by quirk of fate in a fire or in a river, then this chaturdasi will not apply. In the case of death in a battle or during a fast, this chaturdasi is applicable. Similarly uncles & brothers who have lost their lives through unnatural means shall also be offered sraddha. The deva here is Doorilochana.