BLOG POST 4
We started for Gaya which took 5 hours from Varanasi, the road was not very good and we stopped midway for a hot, heavenly cup of tea in an earthen cup which we were supposed to break after drinking the tea.
Gaya is a holy city beside the Falgu River, in the northeast state of Bihar, it is of great historical significance and one of the major tourist attractions of Bihar. It is 100 kilometres south of Patna, the capital city of Bihar.
The city is surrounded on three sides by small, rocky hills (Mangla -Gauri, Shringa-Sthan, Ram-Shila, and Brahmayoni), with the Phalgu river on its fourth
Gaya is sanctified in the Jain, Hindu and Buddhist religions. Gaya district is mentioned in the great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha ,it is the place where Rama, with Sita and Lakshman, came to offer pind daan for their father Dasharath, and continues to be a major Hindu pilgrimage site for the pind-daan ritual.
Gaya is named after Gayasur Rakshas who was blessed after a severe tapasya that whoever touches him shall be purified and be eligible to reach heaven directly.
Due to this boon, even after the wrongdoings people started getting salvation by seeing him. Unable to withstand this and to save humanity, Lord Vishnu by putting his right foot on the Gayasur’s head sent him to the netherworld in the process imprinting his footprints on the rock which is visible even today in Vishnu Paad temple.
Gayasur pleaded him for food, Vishnu promised him that he will not die of hunger and whoever will offer him food will get moksh. This is the reason why people go there to do “Pind-Daan” of their loved ones. and it is said that the body of Gayasura was transformed into series of rocky hills that make up the landscape of Gaya.
The day Gayasura doesn't get food, it is believed that he will come out. Every day, one or the other from different parts of India will pray for welfare of his departed and offer food, thereby feeding Gayasura
After researching online we had decided to go to Andhra-Telangana Bhawan in Gaya . Pilgrims from Andhra / Telangana / Karnataka/ Kerala/ Tamil Nadu visit this place. We met the main head of the Bhawan - Manohar Lal a pleasant man whose ancestors have been providing service to pilgrims in Gaya for over last 200 years
He explained all the details of the rituals and the costs involved for the various options. He was very professional and the costs we found were reasonable. We asked for a dedicated priest for our Pooja which he did.
He also volunteered to arrange lunch at a very nominal fee which however we refused and he had AC rooms with attached bathrooms for reasonable rates
We did not use them, as we were staying in Oaks hotel in Bodhgaya .
We paid for the Gaya Shradh and for anna dhan to 5 Brahmins, Gaya being on the top of the list has much significance when it comes to Pind daan as it is known that the soul would be freed from the agonies of hell and sent to heaven by performing Gaya-Shraddha or Pind Daan in Gaya.
In Gaya, Pind Daan can be done all through the year but it is better to perform Gaya shradh or Gaya Pind Daan during 1st, 3rd , 5th and 7th day of amavasya with krishana paksh in any month and during auspicious 18 days pitru paksh mela.
The auspicious 18th day of Tri paksha sraddha or Pitrupaksha mela, is considered best days for offering pooja to departed forefathers or any departed family members.
This auspicious 18th day comes every year in September or October. when an estimated 6 to 7 lakh pilgrims arrive in the Gaya city
After ceremonies are over charity is given to Brahmins at Gaya in the form of Hiranya Danam (in cash). Charity can also be given in kind also like Rice, Ghee, Jaggery, Honey, Grandha (Book), Vasthra clothes, Paada Raksha (Chappals), Umbrella, Hand Stick, Fan, Sayya (Bedding), Phala (Fruits), Bell (Ghanta), Paathra (brass/silver vessel), Asana (Mat), Nava Dhanya which are called shodasa Danas. The best is Anna Danam, feeding Brahmins.
Pind Daan can be done with 25 Rs or up to 5000 Rs or more. People with small budgets are grouped so that the Pundit can perform the ceremony for 20 or more people together. If one gets a Pundit dedicated, the total budget including all ingredients and donation, etc. can range from Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000. Westerners also come and do these poojas
The Pind Daan is typically performed by sons, or other male relatives such as brothers, father, grandsons etc. However if there are no close male relatives willing or able to perform Pind Daan, female relatives such as daughters, mother, granddaughters etc. can also perform Pind Daan.
We were taken by a priest to a small temple of Rama where the river Phalgu was supposed to be flowing along its banks but was dry when we went, so we had to be satisfied with tap water.
There our long wait started, our priest left us and went on some personal work ,so we were literally left to twiddle our thumbs or meditate
I was looking curiously around me and saw many shops in the narrow lane selling mainly pooja items and found a young boy very fluently talking to pilgrims in almost all languages and persuading even the most reluctant to buy .He was very proficient and professional ,I admired his business skills and felt maybe marketing doesn’t need an MBA degree
At last after multiple hectic phones to Mr Manoharilal, our priest arrived and started the pooja ,he asked for details of our father in law and his fore fathers to know whether he or his ancestors had done the pitru pooja at Gaya and sent someone to search for details ,apparently they maintain a register of all poojas
Our priest then gave us some rice flour to make round balls- pind numbering 105, we had to arrange 35 of them in 3 separate peepal leaves . This has to be later taken to 3 different places to offer
Pind daan can be given to friends or loved pets, it is said we can offer pind dhan to our own self if we were not sure of our children offering it, I felt this was too much and may not be true.
At the end of the pooja which lasted for almost an hour we had to give up together permanently 4 things in life, any one sweet, one vegetable, one fruit and one leaf, one is advised to better think before the trip and decide on our choices, whether to leave the most favorite one or the most detested one ,apparently a man who wholeheartedly hated his wife gave her up and wanted to leave Gaya without her anyway the pundits and his angry wife didn’t let him do that, that's one fun part of the whole ceremony.
Actual idea is to renounce materialistic things, I was asking the priest why we were renouncing our favorite things in Gaya and not in Varanasi ,he blithely said Gaya was more famous for these things
And after all these procedures , we kept all the three leaves in one bowl provided and took it to 3 different places , first one we offered a cow at the temple where we did pooja ,one Panda came with us to take us to Vishnu Pad temple which incidentally closes from 12:00 to 2:00 pm for lunch a fact which one have to be aware of and be alert, otherwise we have to wait till 2 pm in the hot sun
In the temple one priest did a very brief sankalp and asked for anna dhan , it is better we keep ready 50 ,100 or 500 rupee notes ready as no one is ready to accept anything less ,if we offer coins or 10 Rs note it is very scornfully thrown back at us
Then we were asked to go inside the sanctum where Lord Vishnu's Right Foot's imprint was there and on that we had to put the 33 pinds of one leaf, the imprint was 40 cm long foot and consisted of nine different symbols including Shankam Chakram and Gadha. These are believed to be weapons of the lord.
Vishnupad Temple is one of the major places of worship in Gaya and dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This ancient temple is of an unknown origin , was rebuilt and repaired in the 18th century by Ahilya Bai Holkar. Lord Gadadhara ( a manifestation of Srimann Narayana ) is worshipped here
The temple has been constructed using the South Indian Shikhara style of architecture and stands out among the other structures in the vicinity.
Atop the structure we could see a 50-kilo gold flag, donated by a devotee
We then went to Vat Vriksh where another priest was waiting to do a brief sankalp and again the anna dhan request made after we kept the remaining pind at the tree, actual Akshay Vruksh is 20 minutes away from the temple and can be approached by auto
Dress code is a must during the entire ceremony as men have to remove their shirts during pooja.
Compared to Prayagraj and Varanasi I found the pandas more demanding and disdainful, a 100 Rs note was looked at in scorn and 500 Rs note was only accepted ,this sort of demanding surely leaves a bitter taste in the pilgrims
We took a car and went to Mangla Gauri temple, mentioned in Padma Purana, Vayu Purana and Agni Purana and Shri Devi Bhagwat Puraan and Markandey Puraan and other scriptures and tantric works. This temple is among the eighteen Maha Shaktipeeth.
The present temple dates back to 15th century.The shrine is dedicated to Sati or the mother Goddess. Mangalagauri is worshiped as the Goddess of benevolence. This temple is where it is believed that a part of the body of Sati fell according to mythology. Here Sati is worshipped in the form of a breast, a symbol of nourishment.
The temple faces east and is built on top of the Mangalagauri hill. A flight of steps and a motorable road lead to it.
The sanctum of the shrine is very small with a very short entrance.I felt that claustrophobic people should avoid this place. All together only 2 or 3 people can enter the temple
The whole temple was made up of a single stone. The main idol was a silver circular shaped one breast like pindi with the face of devi in it.. By the time we realised what we were seeing inside, we were forcibly pushed out by the other pilgrims LOL!
A small hall or mandap stood in front of the temple. There were also two minor shrines dedicated to Shiva and images of Mahishasura Mardini,Durga and Dakshina Kali.
It seems Darshan can take around 5-6 hours if the queue is long i.e on Sundays, tuesdays and any other holidays or religious ceremonies ,we luckily could finish in 10 minutes
We started for Gaya which took 5 hours from Varanasi, the road was not very good and we stopped midway for a hot, heavenly cup of tea in an earthen cup which we were supposed to break after drinking the tea.
The city is surrounded on three sides by small, rocky hills (Mangla -Gauri, Shringa-Sthan, Ram-Shila, and Brahmayoni), with the Phalgu river on its fourth
Gaya is sanctified in the Jain, Hindu and Buddhist religions. Gaya district is mentioned in the great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha ,it is the place where Rama, with Sita and Lakshman, came to offer pind daan for their father Dasharath, and continues to be a major Hindu pilgrimage site for the pind-daan ritual.
Gaya is named after Gayasur Rakshas who was blessed after a severe tapasya that whoever touches him shall be purified and be eligible to reach heaven directly.
Due to this boon, even after the wrongdoings people started getting salvation by seeing him. Unable to withstand this and to save humanity, Lord Vishnu by putting his right foot on the Gayasur’s head sent him to the netherworld in the process imprinting his footprints on the rock which is visible even today in Vishnu Paad temple.
Gayasur pleaded him for food, Vishnu promised him that he will not die of hunger and whoever will offer him food will get moksh. This is the reason why people go there to do “Pind-Daan” of their loved ones. and it is said that the body of Gayasura was transformed into series of rocky hills that make up the landscape of Gaya.
The day Gayasura doesn't get food, it is believed that he will come out. Every day, one or the other from different parts of India will pray for welfare of his departed and offer food, thereby feeding Gayasura
He also volunteered to arrange lunch at a very nominal fee which however we refused and he had AC rooms with attached bathrooms for reasonable rates
We paid for the Gaya Shradh and for anna dhan to 5 Brahmins, Gaya being on the top of the list has much significance when it comes to Pind daan as it is known that the soul would be freed from the agonies of hell and sent to heaven by performing Gaya-Shraddha or Pind Daan in Gaya.
In Gaya, Pind Daan can be done all through the year but it is better to perform Gaya shradh or Gaya Pind Daan during 1st, 3rd , 5th and 7th day of amavasya with krishana paksh in any month and during auspicious 18 days pitru paksh mela.
The auspicious 18th day of Tri paksha sraddha or Pitrupaksha mela, is considered best days for offering pooja to departed forefathers or any departed family members.
After ceremonies are over charity is given to Brahmins at Gaya in the form of Hiranya Danam (in cash). Charity can also be given in kind also like Rice, Ghee, Jaggery, Honey, Grandha (Book), Vasthra clothes, Paada Raksha (Chappals), Umbrella, Hand Stick, Fan, Sayya (Bedding), Phala (Fruits), Bell (Ghanta), Paathra (brass/silver vessel), Asana (Mat), Nava Dhanya which are called shodasa Danas. The best is Anna Danam, feeding Brahmins.
We were taken by a priest to a small temple of Rama where the river Phalgu was supposed to be flowing along its banks but was dry when we went, so we had to be satisfied with tap water.
There our long wait started, our priest left us and went on some personal work ,so we were literally left to twiddle our thumbs or meditate
I was looking curiously around me and saw many shops in the narrow lane selling mainly pooja items and found a young boy very fluently talking to pilgrims in almost all languages and persuading even the most reluctant to buy .He was very proficient and professional ,I admired his business skills and felt maybe marketing doesn’t need an MBA degree
Our priest then gave us some rice flour to make round balls- pind numbering 105, we had to arrange 35 of them in 3 separate peepal leaves . This has to be later taken to 3 different places to offer
At the end of the pooja which lasted for almost an hour we had to give up together permanently 4 things in life, any one sweet, one vegetable, one fruit and one leaf, one is advised to better think before the trip and decide on our choices, whether to leave the most favorite one or the most detested one ,apparently a man who wholeheartedly hated his wife gave her up and wanted to leave Gaya without her anyway the pundits and his angry wife didn’t let him do that, that's one fun part of the whole ceremony.
Actual idea is to renounce materialistic things, I was asking the priest why we were renouncing our favorite things in Gaya and not in Varanasi ,he blithely said Gaya was more famous for these things
And after all these procedures , we kept all the three leaves in one bowl provided and took it to 3 different places , first one we offered a cow at the temple where we did pooja ,one Panda came with us to take us to Vishnu Pad temple which incidentally closes from 12:00 to 2:00 pm for lunch a fact which one have to be aware of and be alert, otherwise we have to wait till 2 pm in the hot sun
In the temple one priest did a very brief sankalp and asked for anna dhan , it is better we keep ready 50 ,100 or 500 rupee notes ready as no one is ready to accept anything less ,if we offer coins or 10 Rs note it is very scornfully thrown back at us
Then we were asked to go inside the sanctum where Lord Vishnu's Right Foot's imprint was there and on that we had to put the 33 pinds of one leaf, the imprint was 40 cm long foot and consisted of nine different symbols including Shankam Chakram and Gadha. These are believed to be weapons of the lord.
The temple has been constructed using the South Indian Shikhara style of architecture and stands out among the other structures in the vicinity.
Compared to Prayagraj and Varanasi I found the pandas more demanding and disdainful, a 100 Rs note was looked at in scorn and 500 Rs note was only accepted ,this sort of demanding surely leaves a bitter taste in the pilgrims
We took a car and went to Mangla Gauri temple, mentioned in Padma Purana, Vayu Purana and Agni Purana and Shri Devi Bhagwat Puraan and Markandey Puraan and other scriptures and tantric works. This temple is among the eighteen Maha Shaktipeeth.
The sanctum of the shrine is very small with a very short entrance.I felt that claustrophobic people should avoid this place. All together only 2 or 3 people can enter the temple
The whole temple was made up of a single stone. The main idol was a silver circular shaped one breast like pindi with the face of devi in it.. By the time we realised what we were seeing inside, we were forcibly pushed out by the other pilgrims LOL!
