For many families, the question of whether women can perform Pind Daan arises with both sincerity and hesitation. The answer is not as rigid as it may seem. Our scriptures, traditions, and stories, when read with depth, reveal a far more inclusive truth.
Women as Keepers of Sacred Insight
In ancient India, especially Rishi patnis, the wives of sages, were often mantra drashtās (those who saw the mantras). They didn’t just participate in rituals; they were sources of revelation. It was from them that many mantras flowed, to be received, preserved, and passed on to others.
These women were not just companions but active carriers of sacred knowledge, performing Shraadh rites in times and spaces where no one else could. They were not seen as exceptions but as essential.
Even the elements like rivers and seas are described as following a Ruthu chakra, echoing the sacred cycles within a woman’s body. What, then, is impure when all of nature reflects the same rhythm?
Tradition in Practice: The Tamil Iyer Context
In many Tamil Iyer households, there is a beautiful and quiet division of sacred duties. It is the women who prepare the pindas, shaping them with care, chanting sacred names, while the men offer them during the ritual.
This is not about restriction, but about shared dharma. Each does what they are scripturally and culturally guided to do, and together, the act becomes whole.
A Changing World, a Living Tradition
Today, many families are without sons or male members. Others find themselves far from traditional settings or separated by circumstance. In such cases, daughters, sisters, and wives do step forward, and rightly so.
The Garuda Purana, while focused on procedure, does not explicitly forbid women from participating in Shraadh. What it does emphasise is sincerity, shraddha (faith), and intention, which are not bound by gender.
न मे बन्धुर्न मे मित्रं, गुरुर्नैव जनः स्मृतः।
"I have no relative, no friend, not even a teacher. All has been let gone, and now, everything dissolves into the Self."
मया त्यक्तं हि सर्वस्वं, आत्मन्येव विलीयते॥
A Call from the Ancestors
If you feel a quiet call in your heart to honour your ancestors, don’t hesitate because of your gender. The divine listens not just to the words of the ritual, but to the truth of your intention.
Understand your role in the rituals with clarity, and our support
There is a place for every sincere soul in the journey of remembrance. And sometimes, the sacred journey begins with a simply saying — yes, I’ll do it.