Gaya: The 16-day Pitripaksh Mela concluded in Gaya on Saturday, with a record 51 lakh pilgrims from across India and abroad performing pinddaan and tarpan at Vishnupad temple, the Falgu river, Akshaywat and other pind vedis across Gaya and Bodh Gaya.Coinciding with Amavasya, the concluding day saw thousands of local residents and devotees from neighbouring districts throng the banks of the Falgu river to perform tarpan and pray for peace for their departed ancestors.Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav also performed tarpan in the Niranjana river at Shankaracharya Mutt in Bodh Gaya.Mahesh Kumar Garg from Raigarh in Chhattisgarh and Ashok Sharma from Alwar district in Rajasthan were among the devotees who performed the concluding rituals at Akshaywat with their family members.“We have a big family of around 500 members. Fourteen couples from our family arrived in Gaya and stayed here for all 16 days of Pitripaksh. We performed the ancestral rituals at the pind vedis with complete devotion and faith, praying for peace to the departed souls of our ancestors,” Garg said.Sharma said performing ancestral rituals was an opportunity to honour departed family members and strengthen bonds among relatives.“Everyone should explore an opportunity to perform rituals for their ancestors, as it brings peace, unity and affection among family members. Anyone who gets this opportunity is very lucky. I, along with my five brothers and their spouses, performed the rituals at all possible prescribed sites across Gaya and Bodh Gaya,” he said.Senior Gayapal panda Gajadhar Lal Katariyar said devotees visiting Gaya for pind daan should complete the final ritual at Akshaywat, where offerings are believed to help their ancestors attain ‘moksha’.
