Gaya – gateway to heaven for the departed souls of ancestors

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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 15^th 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

© S Roy Biswas