Gaya Pitrapaksha Mela

The Gaya Pitrapaksha Mela is held in the month of September. The sleepy town of Gaya bustles to life as people visit for the famous Mela and the ancestor worship typified in Shraddha ritual.

It is the occasion when Gayalis, descendants of Magga Brahmans who were once devotees of Shiva but later converted to Vaishnavism, prepare for the Vedic Shraddha ceremonies or the “pindan”. These are mandatory Hindu rites that are supposed to bring salvation to the departed souls.

In the early Dharmashastras, Vishnu provides a list of more than fifty “tirtha”s but it proclaims that dead ancestors pray to God for a son who would offer them a “pinda” or a lymph of rice, at Gaya.

Very informative post. Didn't know about this mela.

The tradition of the Gaya Pitrapaksha Mela traces its history to the time of Lord Buddha, who is believed to have performed the first pindan here. Puranic legends ascribe Gaya as one of the holiest spots of the world.

The Asura, named Gaya, became so powerful that the gods felt threatened and thus thought of eliminating him. As a pre-condition to his death, Asura demanded that he should be buried in the most auspicious site of the world. That place was Gaya.

Have any of you ever visited the Gaya Pitrapaksha Mela? Can you share more about this holy fair?

Interesting information. I didnt know that Gaya was in fact an asura.
Thanks for digging out the information.

Dear Piya
My DH and myself have recently visited Gaya on the occassion of the Pitripaksh Mela. This year the mela is upto 18 Sep.
As with most other Hindu teerth sthan, I was forewarned of the fleecing attitude of the Pandas. Therefore when I got down at Gaya station, I straight away headed for the Bharat Sevashram Counter just outside the station. The Swamijis' provided me the necessary guidance. The ceremony beside the Phalgu river went off without a hitch. The Pandas also gave me a list of people of my clan who had visited Gaya for Pind daan.

Yes, the shradh ceremony is important. But we have not been able to go to Gaya ... we perform the ceremony at the local mandir.

Dear Piya
Pind-daan is an important hindu ritual. It is a tradition to offer pind daan in the krishna-paksh of the month of Aswin. Gaya is a popular destination to offer pind-daan because it is believed that offering pind daan will ensure salvation of ones’ ancestors.

The city of Gaya is situated on the banks of the Phalgu river. It is said that Lord Vishnu himself resides in the city as the Pitri Devta. The city finds mention both in the Vayu Puran and the Vishnu Puran. According to the Vishnu Puran, offering pind-daan in Gaya will enable the ancestors to ascend to heaven and attain salvation.

I would like to relate a little different version of the legend of Gaya.
Gaay was actually an asura who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. He had a very large body. It is said that he did penance for 100 years on the Kolahal Parvat. Lord Vishnu then appeared before him and gave him the boon that anyone seeing him or touching him would be able to ascend to Vaikunth. This disturbed the devtas and they asked for his body and made a yagya-sthal on it.

Pleased by his devotion, Lord Vishnu granted him a boon. Gaay then said that as long as there is sun and moon, you must stay here. Gaay’s body was spread over five kos, and the entire area came to be known as Gaya.