Eighth Shraddha Story

The tradition of Shraddha began in the Mahabharata era. According to the story, after the death of Karna, the charitable warrior, Chitragupta refused to grant him salvation. Karna asked why he was denied salvation since he had always donated his wealth for noble deeds. Chitragupta explained that while Karna had fulfilled his duties toward the gods (Dev Rin) and sages (Rishi Rin), he still owed a debt to his ancestors (Pitru Rin). Karna had only donated wealth and gold during his lifetime but never offered food (Anna Daan), which is essential for honoring ancestors. Until Karna repaid this debt, he could not attain salvation. Chitragupta sent Karna back to Earth for 16 days to perform the necessary Shraddha rituals, including Tarpan and Pinddaan, to please both known and unknown ancestors. After performing these rituals, Karna finally achieved salvation. This is said to be the origin of the Shraddha tradition.