Gaya (Bihar): The holy city of Gaya has a special connection with Lord Ram and Mother Sita, as it was here that the latter had conducted 'pind daan' for her father-in-law King Dasharatha.
Among the numerous holy cities in India, Gaya assumes special significance as it is known as Muktidham, where one attains salvation. It is belived that the the soul of an ancestor us liberated by performing pind daan (ritual conducted after cremation) at Gaya.
Although pind daan is performed in Gaya throughout the year, conducting the ritual on the occasion of Pitripaksha has special significance. Gaya Dham finds mention in many texts including Garuda Purana. It is also said that the soul attains Vishnu Lok only by performing Shraadh in Gaya.
According to legend, during their exile, Lord Ram along with his brother Laxman reached Gaya to perform Shraadh of their father Dasharatha. The two brothers went to fetch some essential goods for the pind daan while Mother Sita waited for them on the banks of the river Falgu.
When the two brothers did not return for a long time, suddenly the soul of King Dasharatha appeared before Mother Sita and told her to do perform pind daan. On the demand of King Dasharatha, Mother Sita sat on the bank of the river Falgu and considering the ketaki flowers and cows as witness, performed the pind daan.
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After some time, when Lord Ram and Laxman returned with the goods, Sit told them that she had already performed the pind daan for Dasharatha. However, Lord Ram refused to believe and asked for proof. Mother Sita asked him to take the testimonies of ketki flowers, cows and the sand. But none other than the banyan tree planted there testified in favour of Sita.
Mother Sita then meditated and beckoned the soul of Dasharatha to be the witness. The soul of Dasaratha then appeared and said that Sita had performed the pind daan. This convinced Lord Ram.
Angry that the river and the ketki flowers had lied, Mother Sita cursed the Falgu to dry up. Due to the curse, the Falgu remains dry even today and has some water only during the rainy days. The Sitakund on the other bank of the river too is dry. Hence even today, the pind daan here is done with balls of sand.
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