Thila Homam (Tila Havana) Pooja at Gokarna

Thila Homam — written in Karnataka as Tila Havana, in the South as Tila Homa, and in North India as Tila Havan or Til Homam — is the sesame-seed fire offering made for the peace of departed ancestors. It is one of the pitru karyas most often asked of us at Gokarna, performed on its own or as the fire portion of a larger ancestral rite.

Our purohits perform it in the traditional Gokarna manner in the precincts of the Shree Mahabaleshwar Temple at Gokarna, under Vishweshwar D. Bhat Gurulingaji, Kshetra Gokarna Purohit. Below: what the ritual is, who it is prescribed for, the vidhi step by step, what the japa counts of 1008, 2008, 5008 and 10008 mean, and how to book. Still deciding which rite you need? Start with our pooja services at Gokarna.

What is Thila Homam (Tila Havana)?

Thila Homam is a Vedic fire ritual in which black sesame — tila — is offered into a consecrated agni with cow's ghee while the prescribed mantras are recited. In the shastras tila is the substance most closely bound to pitru karya: it is used in tarpana, in pinda offerings and in this homa, and no ancestral rite is held complete without it. The offering follows a sankalpa in which the gotra and the names of the departed are spoken aloud, so that agni carries it to the pitru devatas on the family's behalf.

The words differ, the rite does not. Havana and homa are the same Sanskrit act; homam is how it is said in Karnataka, Andhra and Tamil Nadu, and havan is the commoner North Indian word. Devotees writing to us for Thila Homam, Tila Homa, Til Homam or Tila Havan are asking for this same puja.

Besides ancestral offerings, the sesame homa is performed at festivals and at turning points in family life, as a rite of purification and of gratitude to the deities. It is traditionally held to burn away impurity at both the outward and the inner level. Sesame is a nourishing grain, and what the fire does not consume returns to the earth — one reason this is among the oldest rites Gokarna has kept unbroken.

Why perform Thila Homam at Gokarna?

Gokarna, in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, is traditionally revered as Dakshina Kashi and as a kshetra where rites for the departed are held to carry particular weight. The Atmalinga of Shree Mahabaleshwar and the waters of Koti Teertha are why families travel here for pitru karya instead of performing it at home — our guide to Gokarna describes the town and its teerthas.

For a Tila Homa, everything the rite needs sits in one place: purohits who perform pitru karya daily, the teertha for tarpana afterwards, familiar temple formalities. A homa on its own is usually finished within the morning; combined with Pitru Paksha shraddha and tarpan rituals, plan a longer stay.

Who should perform Tila Homa, and who is eligible?

Devotees perform Thila Homam seeking relief where an astrologer has read pitru dosha or pitra dosh in the horoscope; where shraddh or tarpan has been left undone for years; where a death was sudden or the last rites incomplete; or on the annual tithi of a parent. It is also prescribed as prayaschitta, to make good a lapse in an earlier ritual.

The person seeking the remedy takes the sankalpa, with the family seated alongside — usually the son, grandson or another member of the lineage. Where there is no son, the shastras provide for a brother, a nephew, a daughter's son or another relative of the same gotra, and our priest will tell you which applies to your family.

When is Thila Havana performed? Best days and tithis

Amavasya is the day most often chosen. The sixteen days of Pitru Paksha (Mahalaya Paksha) are the classical window for every pitru karya, and Makara Sankranti — the festival at which til is given and eaten across India — is the other day on which the sesame homa is specially prescribed. Somavati Amavasya, Mahalaya Amavasya and the death tithi are also traditionally held suitable.

That said, a Tila Homa is not restricted the way some rites are, and is often performed on a day the family is already in Gokarna for another ritual. Call before booking travel — the purohit checks the panchanga and tells you which morning in your window is best.

Thila Homam procedure step by step

The vidhi follows the order laid down for a homa in the pitru tradition, adjusted to the family's shakha and gotra. Read it as the shape of the morning, not a fixed script.

1. Snana and achamana. The family bathes and comes fasting to the mandapa in traditional dress.
2. Sankalpa. The purohit states the day, tithi, gotra, the names of the family and of the departed, the purpose of the homa and the japa sankhya chosen.
3. Kalasha sthapana and punyahavachana. The kalasha is established and the place, vessels and participants purified.
4. Agni pratishtapana. The fire is kindled in the homa kunda with samidha and invoked with the prescribed mantras.
5. Japa and tila ahuti. Black sesame mixed with ghee is offered into the fire, ahuti by ahuti, to the count fixed at the sankalpa — 1008, 2008, 5008 or 10008.
6. Purnahuti. The final full offering with coconut, cloth and the remaining samagri closes the homa.
7. Tila tarpana and tilodaka. Where prescribed, sesame and water are offered to the pitrus at the teertha afterwards.
8. Dana and prasada. Vayana dana or brahmana bhojana as advised, and prasada to the family.

Allow approximately two to three hours for the homa itself. Higher japa counts and added tarpana or pind daan at Koti Teertha extend the morning.

What do the japa counts 1008, 2008, 5008 and 10008 mean?

The number is the japa sankhya — how many times the mantra is repeated and how many sesame ahutis go into the fire. It is declared in the sankalpa and cannot be changed once the homa has begun, so families settle it beforehand. A 1008 Thila Homam and a 10008 Thila Homam are the same ritual; what changes is the length of the sitting, the til and ghee consumed, and how many priests are needed to finish the count within the muhurta.

The trailing eight is not decoration: traditionally an extra part is added to a round count so that any lapse or interruption in the recitation is made good — which is why the prescribed numbers read 1008 rather than 1000. Which count suits your sankalpa depends on what the rite is for and on the purohit's reading of your case; devotees performing prayaschita or a long-postponed remedy are commonly advised a higher sankhya.

Tila Havana vs Tila Tarpana vs Tilodaka — what is the difference?

These three are constantly confused, and families sometimes arrive having booked one when they wanted another.

• Tila Havana / Tila Homa / Thila Homam — sesame offered into the consecrated fire. Agni is the medium, and the rite needs a homa kunda, samidha and ghee.
• Tila Tarpana (Thila Tarpanam) — sesame offered with water, poured from the hands for the pitrus with the sacred thread over the right shoulder, facing south. No fire is involved; it is the shorter offering, repeated through Pitru Paksha.
• Tilodaka — not a separate ceremony but the sesame-mixed water itself, used in tarpana and pinda rites; the word belongs to the vidhi, not to a booking list.

Most families performing an ancestral remedy at Gokarna do the homa and the tarpana on the same morning, in that order. If you are unsure which you were told to perform, read the instruction aloud to our purohit.

What samagri is required for Thila Homa?

Black sesame (krishna tila), cow's ghee, samidha for the fire, akshata, darbha grass, a kalasha with teertha water, camphor, flowers, fruit, coconut and betel, along with the cloth and dana articles prescribed for the sankalpa. Quantities scale with the japa count.

You do not need to source any of it: we arrange the til, ghee, samidha, kalasha and all homa samagri as part of the booking. The family brings the names and gotra of the departed, traditional clothing, and anything of ancestral significance you wish to place before the fire. Ask us before packing — several items travel badly and are easier bought here.

What does Thila Homam cost at Gokarna, and what is included?

We do not publish a figure here, because a Tila Homa is quoted against a sankalpa rather than sold as a package. What decides the amount is the japa sankhya you choose, how many priests are needed to complete it, the til and ghee offered, whether tila tarpana, pinda offerings or brahmana bhojana are added, and whether the homa stands alone or forms part of a longer ritual.

On the call you are given one amount covering priests, samagri and temple formalities, with guidance on where to stay and how long to keep free; nothing is added afterwards. For how ritual charges are worked out here, see pooja cost at Gokarna, or contact us with your dates.

Where does Tila Homa fit in a Pitru Dosha remedy sequence?

Thila Homam is rarely the whole answer to pitru dosha; it is usually one movement in a sequence. Where an astrologer has read pitra dosh or the effect of an ancestral curse, the remedy commonly begins with kshetra vidhi purification rites, proceeds to the principal ritual — Pitru Shaapa Vimochana, the pitru dosha nivarana and parihara rituals, or Tripindi Shraddha for three generations of ancestors — and is completed through the fire, which is where the sesame homa comes in.

Where the trouble concerns a soul that has not found rest rather than the lineage as a whole, the sequence runs instead through Preta Dosha remedies and Moksha Narayana Bali Pooja, with the homa again alongside. Tell the purohit exactly what was said to you, and the sequence is set out before you commit to dates.

Fasting, dress code and rules on the day of the homa

Keep a satvik diet from the previous evening, without onion or garlic. Those taking the sankalpa come fasting and eat only after the rite is complete. Traditional dress is expected — dhoti or veshti for men, saree or salwar for women; leather belts, wallets and footwear stay outside the mandapa, phones silent, photography only with the priest's permission.

Ask us about darshan before planning the day, since on some rituals the order in which darshan and the ceremony are taken matters. Elderly relatives and anyone unwell should be warned of the smoke and the long seated period; seating can be arranged.

How to book Thila Homam at Gokarna

Call +91 83109 37047 or +91 88613 21496 and speak to Vishweshwar D. Bhat Gurulingaji directly, or send the same details on WhatsApp. Have ready: the names and gotra of the departed, the relationship, the dates you can be in Gokarna, how many are coming, and anything an astrologer has written for you. The tithi is checked against the panchanga and the japa count advised on the same call.

If you would rather write, use the enquiry form on our contact page, or see how remote sankalpa and online pooja booking at Gokarna works for families who cannot travel. Photographs of homas performed here are in the gallery.