The Vedic people worshipped celestial beings known as devas. They also worshipped their ancestors known as pitras. The worship of these two sets of divinities complements each other.
People worship the devas during the waxing of the moon, in spring and summer, before rains. People worship the pitras during the waning half of the moon, in autumn and winter, after rains. These are the seasons when the days grow shorter and colder.
While worshipping the devas, the sacred thread is hung over the left shoulder. When worshipping the pitras, the sacred thread hangs on the right shoulder. One faces the East while worshipping the devas.
While worshipping the pitras, one faces the South. The devas are worshipped by going around the altar in the clockwise direction. The pitras are worshipped by going around the altar in the counter-clockwise direction.
The offerings to devas are made using a special fire placed in the eastern direction. The altar is square-shaped. A semi-circular altar is drawn in the southern direction for the ancestors. The grain is washed three times for the devas, but is washed only once for the pitras. The devas are offered food, usually in the form of milk and milk products, from a ladle pointing straight ahead or over the fingers of the right hand.
Devdutt Pattanaik is an Indian physician turned leadership consultant, mythologist, author and communicator whose works focus largely on the areas of myth, religion, mythology, and management.
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