Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, September 3
Clad in white dhoti; carrying Pind in both the hands and trudging to the river to flow it with great emotions cannot be performed virtually or digitally.
And this is what the priests of Bodh Gaya had been contesting even as efforts were on to promote E-Pind Daan or virtual Pind Daan by the state-run Bihar tourism board and a few businessmen.
For the first time in the history of Gaya, the annual fortnightly ritual of offering Pind Daan (paying homage and food to the ancestors) had been cancelled in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The annual Pitru Paksha mela that was expected to be joined by over a million devotees from all over the world was scheduled to start today and continue till September 17.
Bodh Gaya has a historical and mythological connection to the pind daan. Legend has it that a demon named Gayasur – after whom the town of Gaya is named – received a boon from Vishnu that the souls of the ancestors of a person who performs pind daan will attain mukti.
In the eras that followed, Rama is believed to have performed pind daan for his father emperor Dasharath in Gaya. Yudhishthir, the eldest Pandava brother from Mahabharata is also said to have performed pind daan here. With the technology in place and the innovation in business, a section of priests promote online pind daan.
Gaya district administration on Thursday claimed no devotee came to offer online prayers either. Even the devotees did not show interest. There were only 1470 bookings for online pind daan while over a million performed it physically. Most of the devotees preferring technology over ritual are NRIs, residents of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
To ensure that the devotees did not come to Bodh Gaya for the ritual, district magistrate of Gaya Abhisek Singh had issued orders under different sections of IPC, Epidemic Control Act 1897 and Disaster Management Act 2005 preventing entry of outsiders to the town. Magistrates with police force have been posted at all inter-state and inter-district entry points to the town .Grand Trunk Road (NH2) which passes through Bodh Gaya too have been sealed for outsiders.
The revenue department of the state government had issued an advisory to the DM asking him to cancel the annual fair. Social distancing will be a big challenge for the administration, the DM said in his order to the priests (Pandas). According to him most of the devotees visiting Bodh Gaya for offering homage at Vishnupad Temple and offering prayers in Falgu river are in the vulnerable age group of 60 -65 years.
The state tourism department had invited offers from the pilgrims for e- pind daan. However, the local priests and their parent organisation Sri Vishnupad Management Committee opposed e-pind daan claiming it was against the Hindu religion. Its secretary Giridhari Lal Pathak said the rituals demand physical presence of the children of the ancestors at Bodh Gaya temple and Falgu river for offering pind daan.
Priests refused to entertain requests for e-pind daan introduced by the state tourism department.
Manoj Mishra, a scholar in Sanatan philosophy said now the pind daan had been commercialised by the Bihar Tourism directorate who is sponsoring package tours for Bodh Gaya that include offering e-pind daan service. Some private NGOs and self proclaimed God-men too have entered to make rituals a business.
There are over 10,000 Acharyas who help perform the rituals every year during this period. They have been rendered jobless, Mishra added.
