Pind daan at Gaya
The rite for the dead that brings families to Gaya from everywhere
What it is
Offerings made for ancestors, at more than one site and in a fixed order, over one to three days. A priest leads it. The short form is done in a day at Vishnupad and the Phalgu bed; the fuller one adds Pretshila, Ramshila and Akshayavat, where the final offering closes the rite.
Why it matters
Gaya is where Hindus come to release the dead, and has been for two thousand years. A family arriving without a priest and without knowing the order loses a day finding both, in a town that is at its most crowded exactly when they are most likely to come.
How it works
- Tell us who you are performing it for, and how many days you have.
- We arrange the pandit and agree his fee and the samagri before you arrive.
- Day one: the Phalgu bed, then Vishnupad.
- Day two: Pretshila and Ramshila, which are both climbs.
- Day three: Akshayavat, where the rite is closed under the banyan.
- Who it is for
- Anybody performing shraddh for a parent or an ancestor. You do not have to be the eldest son; the priest will tell you what your relationship allows.
- Best season
- Oct - Mar outside Pitrapaksh
- Difficulty
- Moderate. Pretshila is a real climb.
- Cost
- The pandit's fee and the samagri. Both are agreed in writing before you begin, which is the single thing that most often goes wrong here.
- When
- All year. Pitrapaksh, a fortnight in Sep or Oct, is the traditional time.
- Booking
- Tirtham arranges the priest. Pitrapaksh is the busiest fortnight of the year in Gaya and needs booking months ahead.
- Book ahead
- A week normally. Three months for Pitrapaksh.
- Languages
- Hindi, Sanskrit, English
Rules
- The order is not improvised. Follow the pandit.
- Fasting until the offering is made, for the person performing it
- White or unstitched cloth is usual for the main performer
- No leather at the temple
What to bring
- The names and gotra of the people you are offering for
- White cloth if you have it; it can be bought there
Where
- Vishnupad Temple, Gaya: Lord Vishnu's footprint, and the great seat of pind daan
- Phalgu River ghats, Gaya: Tarpan and the riverbed pinda offerings of the Gaya Shraddha are made on these ghats
- Akshayavat: It is where the final, concluding pinda of the Gaya Shraddha is offered, making it the last stop of the...
- Pretshila Hill: Devotees bathe in Brahma Kund and then perform pinda-daan on the hill for ancestors believed to be...
- Ramshila Hill: Rama is believed to have offered pinda on this hill, so mourners offer pindas here during Pitrapaksh
- Sita Kund: Pilgrims come because Sita is held to have performed Pind Daan here for her father-in-law Dashratha...
- Brahmayoni Hill: Hindus climb it in large numbers during Pitripaksha to offer at the hill and squeeze through the...
- Mangla Gauri Temple: It is counted among the eighteen Maha Shakti Peethas, the spot where Sati's breast fell, and newlyweds...
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