Gaya the best place for Shraadh
Gaya is considered the best place to perform ‘pind-dan’ during Shraadh. It is believed that the person whose ‘pind-dan’ is performed here attains moksha.
There is an ancient legend associated with Gaya that makes it such an important and auspicious place. According to the legend, there once lived a demon called Gayasur, who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Pleased with his devotion Lord Vishnu appeared before him and asks, “What is it that you seek?”
To which Gayasur replied, "Lord, I want to be more sacred than even the Gods and Goddesses."
Lord Vishnu granted him his wish. As soon as that happened, Gayasur became so pious and holy that he could absolve the sins of even the most evil people by just touching them, and then got them a place in heaven.
Dharmaraj got worried about the state in heaven as all the sinners had started to enter it. So all the Gods and Goddess tricked Gayasur and asked him to give his body for a yagya. Gayasur readily agreed.
It is believed that Gayasur lay down with his head in the northern direction and his feet in the south. The legend says that his body covered a stretch of more than 12 kms. The area that his body covered came to be known as Gaya.
It is this sacredness of Gayasur that makes the land of Gaya holy and brings to it the special status of being the apt place for the last rites of Hindus.
Gaya is considered the best place to perform ‘pind-dan’ during Shraadh. It is believed that the person whose ‘pind-dan’ is performed here attains moksha.
There is an ancient legend associated with Gaya that makes it such an important and auspicious place. According to the legend, there once lived a demon called Gayasur, who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Pleased with his devotion Lord Vishnu appeared before him and asks, “What is it that you seek?”
To which Gayasur replied, "Lord, I want to be more sacred than even the Gods and Goddesses."
Lord Vishnu granted him his wish. As soon as that happened, Gayasur became so pious and holy that he could absolve the sins of even the most evil people by just touching them, and then got them a place in heaven.
Dharmaraj got worried about the state in heaven as all the sinners had started to enter it. So all the Gods and Goddess tricked Gayasur and asked him to give his body for a yagya. Gayasur readily agreed.
It is believed that Gayasur lay down with his head in the northern direction and his feet in the south. The legend says that his body covered a stretch of more than 12 kms. The area that his body covered came to be known as Gaya.
It is this sacredness of Gayasur that makes the land of Gaya holy and brings to it the special status of being the apt place for the last rites of Hindus.
No comments:
Post a Comment