Gaya – gateway to heaven for the departed souls of
ancestors
The spire of the famed Bodh Gaya temple
Gaya as a city finds mention in many Hindu treatise and it is
stated that the present day Gaya sits on the body of an ‘asura’ (literal meaning demon) name Goy, who had sacrificed his body for performance of ‘Yagna’ (sacrificial Hindu fire ritual)
and his body turned into a huge stone mass and the entire region was declared
as Gayakshetra by the Gods stretching 50 Kosas
(ancient Hindu measure of length) and the head itself was 1 kosa.The legend goes that Goyasura was born to Tripurasura and Prabhavati
(daughter of ogress Shuka) in the Svetakalpa era i.e. at the time of creation
of the Earth.He did great penance and
was granted a boon by the Gods as desired by him – “Let all those who seek the
heaven of Vaikuntha see and touch me before proceeding”.Thereafter, on request of Lord Bramha, who
found his body as most pious amongst all on the Earth plane and requested
Goyasura to sacrifice his body for performance of Yagna, which was gladly
accepted by him.
Inside temple complex of the Bharat Sevashram Sangh in Gaya
Since the supreme
sacrifice being made by Gayasura, this place has become an imported destination
for offering of ‘Pinda daan’, a
funeral offering amongst Hindus, so that their souls reach higher reaches of
the heaven. As per the mythology
associated with Gaya, as it is known now, King Vishala offered Pind daan in the Svetakalpa era, Lord Ram and Mata/Mother goddess Sita performed Pind daan ritual for King Dasharata here during the Treta
yuga and Bhisma performed Pind daan of his father Shantanu of
Mahbharata during the Dwapar Yuga.Other holy persons like Prince Siddhartha of
Lumbini who attained his Nirvana in nearby Bodhgaya.The place has been visited by Mahaprabhu Shri Gauranga Prabhu, Sri
Ramkrishana Parhans father and many such luminaries have performed the
ritual of Pind Daan in Gaya.Therefore, it is evident that Gaya is an
ancient city associated with Hindu ritual of offering Pind Daan to their
ancestors so that the departed souls access to higher heavens.
Information board at Sita kund
A temple dedicated to Sun god at entry of Sita Kund
The outer precinct of Mangala Gauri temple
There is another
interesting anecdote narrated by local residents that is associated with Gaya
and Lord Ram and Goddess Sita goes as follows - Whereas, it is said that Lord
Ram performed the rituals at Ram Gaya and Goddess Sita waited at the place
across the Phalgu River at Sita Kund to perform Pind Daan of King
Dasharatha father of Lord Rama.As Lord
Ram got delayed in reaching Sita Kund and as no Pind daan can be performed
after sunset, a heavenly voice advised Goddess Sita to perform the Pind Daan
ritual before sunset by using whatever was available to her.Goddess Sita performed the Pind Daan ritual
using sand and there were five witnesses of the ceremony i.e. Phalgu River,
Tulsi plant, Brahmin, Cow and a Vat/Banyan tree.When Lord Rama returned, he asked Sita for any
witnesses for the ceremony that she had performed, upon which the Phalgu River
denied having seen anything and enraged at this alacrity, Goddess Sita cursed the River and said that
hence forth no water shall be visible in the River and it shall remain as a
River of sand and it appears to be same till date.The next witness i.e. Tusli plant also turned
hostile and Goddess Sita cursed it too saying that the Tulsi plant will remain
pious plant but will grow in all filthy places where dogs will urinate upon it
and this is also true to this day.Thereafter, the Brahmin also denied having seen anything and Goddess
Sita cursed him as well saying that although born high, the Brahmin shall ever
remain greedy and his craving and tryst for a little more than what is offered
will remain in his character.Then came
the turn of the Cow, which too denied having seen anything and Goddess Sita
cursed it saying that despite being offered the best of foods by its owners, it
will stray all around and eat filth and that is true to this day.Finally, the Vat/Banyan tree informed Lord
Ram about the details of the ceremony/rituals performed by Goddess Sita and
elated by it she gave the boon to the Vat/Banyan tree that it shall become
eternal and anyone performing the ancestors Pind
daan ritual and taking three rounds around it, shall have the message
spread across all the Heavens regarding the completion of the ritual by the
Hindu individual for his ancestors and this Vat/Banyan tree stands there till
today and is known as Akshaya Vat
(literally meaning immortal Vat or Banyan).
All ready for the Pind daan ritual in Gaya
The Falgu River in Gaya (Sourced from the internet)
The inside view of famed Vishnupad temple in Gaya (Sourced from the internet)
The famed Akshayavat in Gaya (Sourced from the internet)
I
had also visited the destination recently i.e. March, 2022 to perform Pind daan of my parents and
ancestors.There are several procedures
prescribed for the same amongst the Hindus i.e. Pind daan should be performed only after the demise of both the
parents etc.As informed by the priest
who had performed the rituals of my mother, it is required that Pind daan at Gaya can only be performed
after the first death anniversary ritual known as Barshik (meaning yearly) has been performed.Otherwise this Barshik ritual is required to be performed every year on the date
of death as per Hindu calendar.I had
accordingly scheduled visiting Gaya for the ritual, after performance of this Barshik ritual, no further annual Pind daan or Barshik is required to be
performed by the Hindu person after completing this procedure in Gaya.One can either go and contact the local
Brahmin directly to conduct the ritual, but I had heard of tales of some of these
Brahmins exhorting of huge sums of money for performing the rituals or else one
can visit the famed Bharat Sevashram Sangha to conduct the rituals through
their nominated Brahmins.I chose the
second option of approaching for the rituals through Bharat Sevashram Sangha, a
Hindu spiritual organization that is providing yeoman’s service in this regard
in Gaya and during natural calamities etc. all across the country.Since I had chosen to travel by Air, I was
saved from the mob of agents, who usually descend upon the persons travelling
by train to Gaya in hordes and mislead them and also browbeat them to pay huge
sums of money for performing the rituals.
Monasteries of different countries in Bodh Gaya
Bharat Sevashram Sangha
provides for free or at very nominal rates, rooms to all Hindu pilgrims
visiting Gaya for performance of Pind
daan.The rituals for Pind daan are performed during the first
half i.e. forenoon and is required to be concluded before sunset.Since, I had arrived late in the afternoon,
I had to schedule the Pind daan for
the next day and accordingly, as advised purchased a new Gamcha (locally woven towel), a vest, underwear and a Dhoti (a long cloth worn akin to trouser
by Hindus).Although the rooms were not
upto the mark, as also the food in Ashram that is plain stuff but wholesome (being
catered for all the cost per person is @Rs.30/-), however, there are hotels and
eateries outside the precincts of the Ashram, whose services can be availed, if
one is unwilling to partake food at the Ashram.But staying there has its advantages, as you are surely not going to get
scammed by the scammers roaming in Gaya.Early next morning, we were briefed by one of the Sadhus (a saint) of the Ashram about the rituals.It was informed that the death of ancestors
are divided into two types – (i) Natural death; and (ii) Unnatural death (even
death by Covid wherein no rituals at pyre could be conducted is considered as
an unnatural death).For the natural
death Pind daan has to be performed
at three places namely – (a) Phalgu
River; (b) Vishnupad; and (c) Akshayavata (although it may be offered
at all sixteen points in Gaya), whereas in case of unnatural death an
additional Pind daan has to be
offered at the Pretshila.It is a long drawn procedure, where the
direct descendants from both paternal upto three generations are offered Pinda thrice each and maternal side
direct first descendants are offered thrice, while rest are all offered one Pinda each.Thus, starting early is the clue to
completing the rituals by mid-noon as it gets really hot thereafter.The Ashram authorities assign a Brahmin to
each person and payment is determined in respect of rituals to be performed
that includes payment for Bhujji daan
(Vegetables, fruits and cereals offered ceremonially to the departed souls)
items for Pind daan rituals.An amount of Rs.251/- is earmarked for the
Brahmin who keeps the records of the ancestors who had visited Gaya earlier,
they have records dating back to centuries and claim to be descendants of Goy
or Gayasur.The rights of these Brahmins
are distributed as per the Geographical placement of one’s ancestors and once
you make the Pind daan, one is
required to place the same on record in the register maintained by your
designated Brahmin.I completed all the
rituals and since I had not got conned, I made some voluntary donations at all
the three Pind daan places and as
also to the Bramhin who had maintained the records in respect of my ancestors.
Monastery of Bhutan in Bodh Gaya
Since no other work was
scheduled for the first day, we had decided to visit the famed Sita Kund in the
evening, as it was very hot during the day time.We took an auto-rickshaw to Sita Kund and as
I have already narrated the story of Sita Kund, I am not repeating it for the
sake of brevity.Although here are a few
photographs shot by me using my mobile phone –
A huge 80 foot tall statue of Lord Buddha in Lotus position in Bodh Gaya
A causeway leading to a Buddhist monastery in Bodh Gaya
After visiting Sita Kund, we reached the famed Mangala Gauri temple, which is a temple that dates back to the 15th
Century and is a shakti/sidh peeth with the mythological belief that one of the
breast of Mata Sati stated to have fallen here during the time when enraged
Lord Shiva performed tandava with
dead body of Mata Sati lifted over his head and Lord Vishnu in order to save
the world had used his bow & arrow to cut the pieces of the body, which
fell in fifty two (52) places all over India and these places are considered
sacred and identified as Shakti peetha or
sidh peetha.As per Hindu beliefs,
the other breast fell at Kangra, where the famed Brajeshwari Devi temple is
situated.However, as per my
observations during the visit, I found that people from South India were
visiting the place in hordes.As we had
reached the temple almost at sunset, the quality of photos is not all that
great.
Inside view of a monastery in Bodh Gaya
A close up of monastery doorway in Bodh Gaya
On the second day, after having completed the rituals
of Pind daan in the first half of the
morning and as my flight was scheduled for the next day, we made a decision to
visit Bodh Gaya.But as no cell phones
were allowed and also Indians were not allowed to enter the premises in shoes
or even rubber sandals, whereas foreigners were entering the area in their
shoes/sandals et al and also allowed to carry their mobile phones.Although I was disillusioned with this kind
archaic mind set of the Bihar Government tourism department, still I decided to
have a first-hand look inside the temple complex, because of its immense
spiritual value, being the place of attainment of enlightenment of Lord Buddha here.Since I was able to click only one photo from
outside, I am keeping this experience of mine short.There are many temples with architecture of
many Buddhist countries strewn around in Bodhgaya, may enjoy the photographs of
the destination –
A wide angle view of the monastery doorway
A panoramic view of monastery in Bodh Gaya
Another panoramic view of a monastery in Bodh Gaya
Here is a short video of the destinations visited during Gaya visit
