Shraddha on 11th tithi of Pitrupaksha; coincides with Indira Ekadashi

Ekadashi Shraddha is the ancestral rite of Pitrupaksha performed on the Ekadashi tithi, the eleventh lunar day of the dark fortnight of Ashwin, for forebears who departed on an Ekadashi of any month. It coincides with Indira Ekadashi, the one Ekadashi of the year whose glory is expressly tied to the liberation of the ancestors: the Padma Purana tells how King Indrasena, by keeping this fast and offering shraddha, released his father from the realm of Yama to Vaikuntha. Because grains are not eaten on Ekadashi, many families adapt the rite — offering pinda made of fruit, sesame or water chestnut, and feeding brahmins with phalahar, or feeding them the grain meal on Dwadashi — while others follow their family custom of a regular shraddha bhojan. Tarpan with water and black sesame is offered in the aparahna with the sacred thread worn to the right. The combined merit of Ekadashi and Shraddha on this day is said to be many times greater than either alone.

The karta usually keeps the Ekadashi fast; grains are avoided in the offering according to family custom.