- RJD leaders Lalu Yadav performed Pind Daan ritual for ancestors in Gaya, Bihar recently
- Unconfirmed reports suggest PM Modi may visit Gaya for his mother’s Pind Daan
- Pind Daan is a Hindu ritual to help souls find peace, and is performed in Gaya’s Vishnupad Temple
As political barbs fly in the build-up to a high-voltage Bihar election, a Hindu ritual of ancestor worship has become the talking point. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) patriarch and son Tejashwi Yadav visited the holy city of Gaya yesterday to perform Pind Daan for their ancestors. Unconfirmed reports claim Prime Minister Narendra Modi could visit Gaya soon to perform the ritual for his mother. Pind Daan references are, meanwhile, a recurring theme in sharp political exchanges.
What Is Pind Daan
Pind Daan is a Hindu ritual of worshipping one's forefathers. According to scriptures such as the Garuda Purana, the ritual is performed to help the soul find peace. As part of the ritual, balls of rice are offered to ancestors as a priest chants mantras to invoke spirits.
Gaya in Bihar holds a special significance in Hindu culture, and lakhs flock to this holy city every year to perform pind daan after the death of their parents and relatives. The Vishnupad Temple in Gaya, which has a 40-cm footprint purportedly belonging to Lord Vishnu, is where most devotees go for the Pind Daan ritual. Many also perform the ritual on the banks of Phalgu River and the Akshay Vat tree.
Pind Daan Buzz
Unconfirmed reports claiming that Prime Minister Modi may visit Gaya to perform the Pind Daan of his late mother, Heeraben Modi, have sparked reactions on social media. Congress leaders argue that the Prime Minister's family has already performed the ritual. They have been fact-checked by those who say the Pind Daan can be performed multiple times.
Behind the Pind Daan buzz is the fact that the Prime Minister will be travelling to Bihar during the Pitru Paksha -- a 16-day period considered to be the ideal time for Pind Daan rituals.
Lalu Yadav's Gaya Trip
RJD founder Lalu Yadav visited the holy city with his family and performed Pind Daan for his ancestors at Vishnupad Temple. The RJD patriarch went with his wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, son and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, and daughter-in-law Rajshree Yadav.
"Pitru Paksha has started. My father performed Pind Daan for our ancestors. This ritual holds great significance," Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, told the media today. He said Lalu Yadav is not keeping well, but he wanted to visit Gaya. "This is the first time our family has come here together."
Pind Daan Barbs
The ritual of Pind Daan is being used to take swipes at rivals as Bihar's political temperature rises before the election. Taking a dig at the RJD, JDU leader Neeraj Kumar accused Lalu Prasad of fostering corruption and dynasty politics, and questioned when he would perform Pind Daan to wash his "political sins". Leaders of the RJD and Congress hit back, saying that the JDU leader's statement suggests that he has lost his mental balance. State BJP chief Dilip Kumar Jaiswal distanced the party from the JDU leader's barbs.
In fact, a Pind Daan remark by Lalu Yadav last month had raised a political storm in Bihar. Ahead of Prime Minister Modi's Gaya visit on August 22, the RJD founder had said, "Prime Minister Modi ji is coming to Gaya today to perform the Pind Daan of Nitish Kumar's politics and his party." The jibe drew strong responses from the BJP and its allies, who questioned the veteran leader's choice of words and retorted that the Prime Minister would perform the Opposition alliance's Pind Daan.
