Terahvin (Hindi: तेरहवीं, Punjabi: ਤੇਹਰਵੀਂ) refers to the ceremony conducted to mark the final day of mourning after a death by North Indian Hindus, and sometimes Sikhs.[1] The term terahvin means thirteenth, and the ceremony is held on the thirteenth day after the death being mourned.[1] Alms are given to the poor and to priests who help conduct the ceremonies, which can include Puja and havan for Hindus and a concluding recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib for Sikhs.[2][3] A community function and feast is often organized for the mohalla or village to commemorate the dead person, especially if the deceased was socially prominent.
Terahvin is North Indian term for vedic ritual, Pind Sammelan (also called Spindi).
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b K. S. Singh; Amir Hasan; B. R. Rizvi; J. C. Das (2005), Uttar Pradesh, Manohar, 2005, ISBN 978-81-7304-114-3,
... Ashes of the dead are immersed in a river, preferrably [sic] Ganga. The thirteenth day or final day of mourning is known as terahvin. It can be held any day after the ashes are immersed though generally is observed no later than the thirteenth day. It is a way of bidding goodbye to the soul. Daan, that is, gift of a new bed, shoes, clothes, quilt, ...
- ^ Steven W. Ramey (2008-09-15), Hindu, Sufi, or Sikh: contested practices and identifications of Sindhi Hindus in India and beyond, Macmillan, 2008, ISBN 978-0-230-60832-0,
... Other Hindus, they pray from the Gita or other slokas. And on the 13th day from death, Sikhs who have turbans, they necessarily have Guru Granth Sahib path. For 13 days they go on reading, and on the last day it is completed and special functions are held ...
- ^ Madan Lal Sharma; A.K. Bhatia (1994), Haryana, Anthropological Survey of India, 1994, ISBN 978-81-7304-091-7,
... On terahvin, five pandits are called to perform purificatory puja and havan. Brahmans are treated to fried food, sweets and also given cash and presentations like a string-cot, bed, a stick, juti (shoes) and four or five utensils by way ...