Tirtha Seva

Rites performed for your family at India's sacred places

Pind daan, Narayana Bali, Sarpa Samskara and the observances families arrange once in a lifetime, performed by certified purohits. The full price is published before you book, and nothing is asked of your family on the day.

Where would you like the rite performed?

The two places answer different questions. Gaya is where families go for the obligation owed to parents and forebears. Gokarna is where the south has always gone for a dosha an astrologer has named — and it is close enough to Bangalore to drive to.

Gaya takes its name from Gayasura, whose devotion was such that Vishnu granted his body itself the power to purify whoever performed rites upon it. It is the place families come to for the obligations owed to parents and forebears.

See the rites at Gaya→

Gokarna is Dakshina Kashi — the Kashi of the south — and the place families in the south have long come to for rites the ordinary calendar has no room for: a death that was sudden, offerings missed for years, a dosha an astrologer has named.

See the rites at Gokarna→

If you are not sure which rite you need

Most families arranging these are doing it for the first time, often within days of a bereavement, and the difference between the rites is genuinely confusing. Each rite on the pages above carries a note saying what it is not for, which is the half nobody else publishes.

If a smaller observance is sufficient for your situation, we will tell you before taking payment rather than after. And we promise no spiritual outcome — any provider who guarantees one is worth treating with caution.

Talk to us before you decide →

Questions families ask

Do we have to travel there ourselves?

No. Every rite in this section can be performed on your family's behalf. We take your gotra, the ancestors' names and the sankalpa details, and send photographs and video of the ceremony afterwards. This is how most families living abroad arrange it.

Will we be asked for more money on the day?

Not by us, and not by the purohits we send you to. These places have a genuine reputation for it, which is exactly why we publish the whole price in advance rather than a range. If anyone asks your family for more on the day, tell us and we will deal with it.

Can the rite follow our own tradition?

Yes. Tell us at booking whether your family is Smartha, Madhva, Sri Vaishnava or Iyengar, and the paddhati is observed accordingly. Most providers will not think to ask.

How do we pay?

A 40% advance confirms the booking, and the balance is paid after the ritual is performed. The amount shown on each rite's page is the whole amount.