Shraddha when the Moon is in Magha nakshatra during Pitrupaksha; especially meritorious

Magha Shraddha is the Pitrupaksha rite performed on the day the Moon transits Magha nakshatra during the fortnight of the ancestors. Magha is presided over by the Pitru themselves — its deity is the collective of ancestors — so a shraddha offered under this star is held to reach them most directly. The Matsya and Vayu Puranas praise shraddha on Magha during the dark fortnight of Ashwin as equal in merit to a shraddha performed at Gaya, and it is sometimes called Magha Trayodashi when it falls near that tithi. Unlike the tithi shraddhas, it is not limited to ancestors who died on a particular day: any family may offer tarpan and pinda for all its forebears on this day, in addition to the shraddha on their own tithi. The karta offers water and black sesame, pinda of cooked rice and a meal to brahmins in the aparahna with the sacred thread worn to the right. It is regarded as one of the most powerful days of Pitrupaksha for removing pitru dosha.

The karta observes satvik purity; food is eaten only after it has been offered to the ancestors and brahmins.