Gayaji: On the fourth day of the Pitru Paksha fair in Gayaji, Bihar, devotion mingled with mythology as lakhs of pilgrims gathered at altars once sanctified by Dharmaraj Yudhishthira himself. From Dharmaranya to Brahma Sarovar, Matang Vapi and Aamr Sinchan, the sacred grounds came alive with the age-old ritual of Pind Daan, performed to guide ancestors towards Vaikunth Lok and liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
The rituals — offerings of rice, sesame and jaggery balls, sometimes with urad dal at Brahma Sarovar — are believed to dissolve spiritual obstacles and lift Pitru Dosh. Priests noted that the Panchvedi Tirtha cluster, where these rites take place, has been revered since the Mahabharata era, when Yudhishthira, guided by Lord Krishna, performed the same acts of remembrance after the war.
Crowds at the mela continue to swell. Officials counted more than six lakh devotees over the first three days, with Wednesday’s numbers expected to touch nine lakh. State authorities have put in place crowd management and facilities to ease the journey for pilgrims, who arrive from across India to the Falgu river, Pret Shila, Ramshila and the Vishnupad temple.
“Even Yudhishthira came to Dharmaranya for Pind Daan,” said Radha Ballabh Sharan, a Tirtha priest. “Its sanctity lies not just in ritual, but in the memory of dharma itself.”
