Chapter XIV. Gayā

Volume IV pp. 643–679

Chapter XIV. Gayā

Gayā occupies a unique place in the hearts of all pious Hindus even in these dayṣ Hundreds of pages have been written about the history, the antiquities, the architectural remains of Gayā, the sacred places in and round about Gayā, the śrāddha rites performed in Gayā and about Gayāwals (the priests of Gayā). It is not possible to deal with this vast mass in this work. But it is impossible not to say a few words about the many conflicting views on certain important matters put forward by scholars for about three quarters of a century. Those who are deeply interested in the history and antiquities of Gayā should carefully read the following books and papers; Dr. Rajendralal Mitra's 'Buddha-Gayā' with 51 plates (1878); General Cunningham's 'Mahābodhi' with 31 plates at the end (1892); L. S. S. O'Malley's District Gazetteer of Gayā, vol. XII and J. A. S. B for 1903 LXXII, No. 3, pp 1-11 on 'Gayāśrāddha and Gayāvāls;' Indian Antiquary, vol X pp. 339-340 for a Chinese inscription at Buddha Gayā dated in a Chinese date corresponding to 1033 A. D. and pp. 341-347 for Inscriptions at Gayā, one of which is engraved in a temple of the Sun near a tank 'Dakṣiṇamānasa' near the Viṣṇupada, dated 1813 years after Buddha's Parinirvāṇa; Indian Antiquary, vol 16 pp 63 ff Inscription of Yakṣapāla, son of Viśvāditya, which records the building of a temple for certain images in the 15th regnal year of the Pāla king Nayapāladeva who died in 1045 A. D., edited by Kielhorn; Dr. Benimādhav Barua's 'Gayā and Buddha-Gayā' in two volumes (1934) with plates; Journal of Bihar and Orissa R. Society, vol, 24 (for 1938) pp. 89-111 where Dr. J. C. Ghose deals with 'the antiquity of Gayā.' Some of the remarks of Dr Ghose are most unwarranted and cannot be accepted, such as holding 'maganda' in 'Pramagaṇḍasya' in Rg. III. 53. 14 as identical with Magadha and the explanation of 'udantyāh' in the Ait. Br. as 'people of sunrise.' Among medieval digests Gayā is dealt with in Kalpataru on Tīrthas pp 163-174, Tīrtha-cintāmaṇi of Vācaspati pp. 268-328, Trīsthālisetu of Nārāyanabhaṭṭa pp. 316-379, Tīrthaprakāśa pp. 384-452, Tīrthenḍu-śekhara pp. 54-59, Trīsthālisetu-sāra-saṅgraha of Bhaṭṭoji pp. 36-38. The most important work on Gayā relied upon in such works as the Tristhali-setu and in modern times is the Gayā-māhātmya that occurs at the end of the Vāyupurāṇa (chapters 105–112 of the Ānandāśrama eḍ). Scholars differ about the antiquity of these chapterṣ Rājendralāl Mitra assigned the Gayā-māhātmya to the 3rd or 4th century A. D. O'Malley was inclined to hold that the legend of Gayāsura was invented in the 14th or 15th century, principally on the ground that the Gayāwals profess the Vaiṣṇava faith established by Madhvācārya¹ and acknowledge as their spiritual head the mahant of Hari Narasimhāpura; vide J. A. S. B. vol. LXXII (1903) p. 4. To my mind there is hardly anything in thiṣ The Gayāwals are notorious for their indolence, dissoluteness and ignorance and they are a dying race. O'Malley himself notes in the paper mentioned above (at p. 8) that originally the families of Gayāwals were 1484, that in Buchanan Hamilton's time they numbered about 1000, that in 1893 a Gayāwal counted 128 families, that in the census of 1901 there existed only 168 males (as pure Gayāwals) and 153 femaleṣ Gayā is a place sacred to Viṣṇu and if the Gayāwals had to turn in medieval times for support to some great ācārya they would naturally choose to align themselves with the Vaiṣṇava ācārya Madhva rather than with Śaṅkara Dr. Barua, after an elaborate examination of the several items of evidence, holds 'that' the Gayā-māhātmya is not earlier than the 13th or 14th century A. D. (vol. I, p. 64 of 'Gayā and Buddha Gayā'). From considerations of the space at my disposal I cannot examine in detail his arguments His conclusion is vitiated mainly for two reasonṣ He relies too much on the dubious and unconvincing argument from silence. He examines the account of Gayā that appears in the Vanaparva and compares it with the fuller account in the Gayāmāhātmya and arrives at the rather startling conclusion 'The Gayā proper as known to the Epic (the Mahābhārata) is essentially a place sacred to Yama Dharmarāja, Brahmā and Śivaśūlin, and Viṣṇu and Vaiṣṇavism has no place in it either as a name or as an idea, Except Brahmayūpa, Śivalingā and Vṛṣabha there is no reference to any structural erection nor any iconic suggestion'. In order to show how this conclusion is not at all justified the references to Gayā in the Epic and other Sanskrit works will have to be set out and compared with each other and with the Gayāmāhātmya. The second reason that vitiates Dr. Barua's conclusion is the wrong interpretation that he puts on verse 12 of the Inscription edited by Kielhorn in I. A., vol 16,

I shall now turn to the name Gayā and references to it or similar names from the Ṛgveda downwardṣ A Gayā, son of Plati, is the reputed author of two hymns of the Ṛgveda (X. 63 and X. 64). In Ṛg X. 63. 17 and X. 64. 17 we have the words 'astāvi jano divyo Gayena' (the divine host was praised by Gayā). So Gayā was a proper name applied to a composer of Ṛgvedic hymnṣ In the Ṛg, the word Gayā has several other senses, which are not material here. In the Atharvaveda (I. 14.4) Gayā appears to be a wonder-worker or a sorcerer along with Asita and Kaśyapa. Even in the Vedic Saṁhitās Asuras, Dāsas and Rākṣasas are credited with tricks and magic. Vide Ṛg VII 99.4, VII. 104.24-25 and Atharva IV. 23. 5. It is not difficult to imagine how a sorcerer Gayā could have been transformed into Gayāsura later oṇ Proceeding further, the Nirukta ² while explaining 'idam Viṣṇur-vi cakrame tredhā nidadhe padam' (Ṛg. I. 22. 17) gives two very interesting interpretations, one explaining the verse as a natural phenomenon and the other explaining it from geographical or legendary points of view 'He (Viṣṇu) puts down his foot in three wayṣ According to Śakapūṇi, Viṣṇu plants his foot on the earth, in mid air (sky) and heaven; according to Aurnavābha, on Samārohaṇa, on Viṣṇupada and on Gayaśiraṣ' Whatever the Vedic verse may mean, it is clear that two interpretations had arisen several centuries before Christ and if the usual dates about Buddha's nirvāṇa are accepted Aurnavābha and Yāska both flourished before Buddha. Vide S. B. E., vol. XIII pp. XXII-XXIII for Buddha's nirvāṇa being placed at 483 B. C. according to Ceylonese chronicle, while some western scholars would place it between 429-400 B. C. ³ Gayaśiras is named in the Vanaparva (87. 11, 95. 9), in the Visnudharma-sūtra 85,4 (in the form Gayā- śīrṣa), Vāmanapurāņa (22,20 as the eastern vedi of Brahmā), Skanda I, 2, 13,21 and even in the Buddhist books such as the Mahāvagga (I 21. 1, S. B. E. vol. XIII p. 134) in which last it is said that after having dwelt at Uruvela, Buddha accom- panied by a thousand bhikkhus went to Gayāśīṣa (which is the Pali equivalent of Gayāśīrsa). Traditions of Gayā as a king of the territories round about Gayā are mentioned in Jaina and Buddhist workṣ The Uttarādhyayanasūtra (S B E. vol. 45 p. 86 and note 3 there) states that he was son of king Samudravijaya of Rājagṛha and became the 11th Cakravartiṇ The Buddhacarita of Aśvaghoṣa states that Buddha visited the hermitage called a city of the royal sage Gayā, that the saint (future Buddha) fixed his dwelling on the pure bank of the Nairanjanā river (S. B. E vol. 49 part 1 p. 132, Canto XII. 87-88) and p. 193 (chap XVII. 8 of the same work) and that Buddha went to the hermitage of Kāśyapa at Gayā called Uruvilvā. The same work (S. B E vol. 49 part 1 p 192) speaks of Dharmāṭavī where dwelt 700 ascetics whom Buddha helped to enter nirvāņa. Viṣṇupada occurs in the Viṣṇudharmasūtra 85 40 as a holy place very fit for śrāddha. In my opinion at least Aurṇavābha held that in a particular region there were three places on which according to the legends current in his time the foot-prints of Viṣṇu's foot could be seen ⁴. Two of IV] these, Viṣṇupada and Gayaśiras are well-known; hence it would not be unreasonable to hold that ‘Samārohaṇa’ is a place and has to be located somewhere near the other two. Samārohaṇa means ‘mounting up’ or ‘ascending’. This word probably refers to the ascent of the hill that rises up from the river Phalgu. It is also possible that it is the same as the Udyanta hill echoing with the warbling (of birds) ¹⁴⁷² I therefore hold that at least 600 years before Christ (and hence even before Buddha) there was a tradition about Viṣṇu’s footprints in at least two well-known places viz. Viṣṇupada and Gayā-śiras (both in Gayā). Even if some other work does not mention any one of these it does not follow from mere non-mention that that spot was not so named or did not exist.

Let us now turn to the Vanaparva. Dr. Barua mainly relies on Vanaparva 84. 82-103 and 95. 9-29. But some preliminary remarks must be made before the two passages are examineḍ

The Nāradīyapurāṇa (uttara, 46. 16) states that Gayaśiras extends from Krauñcapada to Phalgutirtha.

Vanaparva chapter 82 sets out Pulastya’s replies to Bhīṣma’s question about tīrthaṣ First comes Puṣkara (verses 20-40), then Jambumārga, Tandulikāśrama, Agastyasarali, Mahākāla, Koțitirtha, Bhadravata (Sthānutirtha), Narmadā, Prabhāsa and several other tīrthas (not in any particular order but selected at random). In chap. 83 Kurukṣetra is described at some length.

Before discussing the most important passage of the Vana- parva (viz. 84. 82-103) we must see what precedes the descrip- tion of Gayā. Dr. Barua and many of those that have written on this passage have not carefully considered the implications of verses 1-81 of chapter 84 and also of the following chapterṣ In Vanaparva 84. 1-81 the author makes Dhaumya name about 57 holy places (including such famous ones as Naimisa, Sakambhari, Gangādvāra, Kanakhala, the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna, Kubjāmraka) and then comes to speak of the sacred spots in Gayā¹⁴⁷³. It is therefore clear that the intention of the author is not to speak exhaustively about any tīrtha. For this reason some tīrthas are described twice in the Vana- parva. For example Naimisa is very highly praised in chap. 81, 59-64 and again in chap. 87, 6-7. The same happens with regard to Gayā in 85.82-103 and 87.8-12. We cannot at all presume from the manner in which tīrthas in Gayā are named and des- cribed that the writer of Vanaparva (chap. 84. 82–103) meant to be exhaustive as regards the holy spots in Gayā or the legends about Gayā. This conclusion is very much strengthened by the fact that in the Anuśāsanaparva three sacred spots in Gayā are mentioned which do not occur in Vanaparva 84. 82–103 viz. 'In Gayā a man becomes purified in Āśmapṛṣṭha (the same as Pretaśīlā), on the hill Niravinda and of even a third brāhmaṇa murder in Krauñcapadī'.⁹ These three, Āśmapṛṣṭha, Nira- vinda and Krauñcapadī, are in addition to those sacred spots that are mentioned in Vanaparva 84. In Vayu 109. 15 a hill Aravindaka is said to be a peak of the Śīlāparvata and Nāradīya (uttara 47. 83), Vāyu 108. 75 and Nāradīya (uttara 46. 16) men- tion the hill Krauñcapada (Muṇḍa-pṛṣṭha was so called) There- fore it is clear that three important sites in the Gayāmāhātmya are mentioned by the Anuśāsanaparva.

It was unfortunate that Dr. Barua confined his attention on the question of the antiquity of Gayā to merely three works viz. the Vanaparva chapters 84 and 95, the Agnipurāṇa chap. 114–116 and the Vāyupurāṇa chapters 105–112. He did not care to investigate all the other Purāṇas nor did it strike him that the explanation of three padas of Viṣṇu furnished by Aurnavābha probably referred to spots around Gayā alone. Other Purāṇas such as Padma (Ādīkhaṇḍa 38. 2–21), Garuḍa I chapters 82–86, and the Nāradīya (uttara chap. 44–47) contain much that concerns Gayā and all of them have many verses in commoṇ The critical edition of the Mahābhārata (published by the B. O. R. I., Poona) reads ‘sāvitram padam’ (chap. 82.81) for ‘sāvitryāstu padam’ of the Bombay editioṇ The reading of the critical edition is supported by numerous and ancient Msṣ Further, the printed Padmapurāṇa (in Ādīkhaṇḍa 38. 13) reads ‘Sāvitram padam’ and thus lends support to the reading adopted in the critical editioṇ The words ‘sāvitram padam’ may be taken to mean the foot-print of Viṣṇu (Savitṛ). Dr. Barua goes very much further than the facts warrant when he says that there is no reference in the Vanaparva to any struc- tural erection or iconic suggestioṇ It is clear that there must have been an image of Dharma, since the Vanaparva speaks of The pilgrim to Gayā having to touch Dharma (Dharmam ista-bhi-samspṛśya). Besides, there is a reference to the footprints of a cow with a calf and to 'Savitra pada'. All these would surely be things that have an 'iconic suggestion'. Moreover, Dr. Barua forgets for the moment that, according to the Chinese traveller Fa Hien who visited India between 399–413 A. D., the Gayā of the Hindu faith was 'all emptiness and desolation' (vide Legge's translation p. 87). It is possible that Gayā might have suffered from earthquakes before 400 A. D. (as it is a region that is liable to severe earthquakes even in modern times) and therefore no structural erection of the ancient city of Gayā (to which ancient Pāli works and the Lalitavistara p 311 refer) might have been left in Fa Hien's day. Gayā appears to have passed through several vicissitudeṣ Some centuries before the Christian era it was in existence and was a flourishing towṇ By 400 A. D. it had been reduced to desolatioṇ But in the 7th century the Chinese traveller Hiouen Thsang notes that the Hindu Gayā was a town with 1000 brāhmaṇa families (vide Beal's B. R. W. W. vol. II p. 113). Later on when Buddhism waned and vanished, Gayā came to comprehend even Buddhist remnants, since the Vāyupurāṇa speaks of Gayā as extending from Pretasilā to Mahābodhi tree (a distance of about 13 miles, according to Mitra p 19).

Dr. Barua has also misunderstood verse 12 of the inscription at Gayā edited by Dr. Kielhorn in I. A. vol 16 p. 63 ff. The verse¹⁰ set out below may be translated as follows: That wise (prince Yaksapala) caused to be constructed a temple for the images of Maunāditya and the other gods (mentioned in it), he dug up the famous Uttaramānasa lake and esta-blished a sattra (charity house for food) near the Akṣaya (vata)'. This inscription of the reign of Nayapāla was IV] engraved about 1040 A.D. Dr. Barua thought that Uttaramānasa was dug up at that time and therefore Uttaramānasa tank is taken to be not older than 1040 A. D. and that it and many of the sacred spots must have been later and the Gayā-māhātmya which speaks of Uttaramānasa must be much later than the 11th century A. D. But Dr Barua is entirely mistaken in thiṣ If a tank was dug up for the first time at the time of the inscription, it is impossible that it should have been called ‘khyāta’ (famous). The tank can become famous some centuries after it was dug. Uttaramānasa tank is mentioned as a sacred spot in Vāyupurāṇa 77. 108 (which verse is quoted about 1110 A. D. in the Kalpataru on tīrtha at p. 168), Vāyu 82. 21, Agni 115. 10. Therefore Uttaramānasa tank was well known at least in the 8th or 9th century A. D. What the inscription means is either that the famous tank had silted up and so it was dug up or that it was made longer, broader and deeper in about 1040. That is all.

In my opinion the Gayāmāhātmya (Vāyu, chap. 105-112), though possibly later than the main text of the Vāyupurāṇa, cannot be placed so late as the 13th or 14th century A. D. It is really a patch-work from many sources of earlier times such as the Vanaparva, Anuśāsanaparva, Padma I 38, the Nāradīya (uttara) chap. 44-47 Several verses and half verses of it are repetitions (such as the half verse ‘Gayāyāṁ akṣayaṁ śrāddham japahomatapāṁsī ca’ Vāyu 108 35 and Vāyu 82.43 quoted as from Vāyu in Kalpataru on tīrtha p. 167, and Vāyu 110. 29-30 are the same as Vāyu 105.37-38. So also Vāyu 82. 31-33 are the same as Vāyu 110. 51-53. Dr. Barua does not notice that in Vāyu (20-24) several sub-tīrthas of Gayā are expressly mentioned viz. Brahmakuṇḍa, Prabhāsa, Pretaparvata, Uttaramānasa, Udici, Kanakhala, Dakṣiṇamānasa, Dharma-araṇya, Gadādhara, Mātaṅga; so also chap 77. 97-108 mention Gṛdhrakūṭa, hermitage of Bharata, Mātaṅgapada, Muṇḍapṛṣṭha and Uttaramānasa. Many of the verses occurring in the Gayāmāhātmya are found quoted in the Smṛticandrikā ¹¹ (about 1150-1225 A. D.) on śrāddha and Āśauca (without name) as briefly exemplified below. I think that the Gayāmāhātmya is to be assigned to some date between the 7th and 10th centuries A. D.

Having disposed of the question of the date of the Gayā- māhātmya and the references to the sacred spots in Gayā in Vanaparva chap. 84, it is necessary to see how Gayā is spoken of in the other parts of the Mahābhārata and the smṛtis In the Vanaparva itself references to Gayā occur in chap. 87 and chap. 95. Vanaparva, chap. 87, starts by saying that going towards the east (from Kāmyaka-vana where the Pāṇḍavas dwelt for some time) the pilgrim would come to the Naimiśa forest and the Gomati river. Thus it is said that in the east there is a holy hill called after Gayā and a holy pool called Brahmasaras; then comes a famous verse ¹³ 'one should desire to have many sons if even one (of whom) goes to Gayā, or performs the Aśvamedha sacri- fice or lets loose a nīla bull (the pitrs may be gratified ). Then Vanaparva chap. 87 goes on to refer to the holy river (mahā- nadi) Phalgu, the hill Gayāśiras, the Akṣayya Vaṭa, where food offered to pitrs becomes inexhaustible. In Vanaparva 95 men- tion is made of Brahmasaras (where Agastya went to Dharma- rāja i. e. Yama, verse 12), of Akṣayavaṭa (v. 14) which is an imperishable place of worship and where the fruit (of offerings made) is inexhaustible; it further states that king Gayā, son of Amūrtarayās, ¹⁴ performed a sacrifice in which food and fees in plenty were distributed (verses 18–19). Vaṣ (XI. 42) states: when a man goes to Gayā and offers food his ancestors become delighted like agriculturists that rejoice when there is good rain and pitrs become (really) putrin (having a son) on account of such a son The Visnudharmasūtra, chapter 85,¹⁵ mentions by name about 55 holy places that are most proper for śrāddha among which those connected with Gayā are Gayāśīrṣa, Akṣaya- vaṭa, Phalgu, Uttaramānasa, Mātangavāpī, Viṣṇupada, and winds up by quoting three verses as gāthās sung by pitrṣ–Yaj. I. 261 states that whatever a man gives while in Gayā leads to inexhaustible rewardṣ Atri-smṛti (55-58) refers to a son's going to Gayā for the benefit of the pitrs, to a bath in Phalgu and tarpaṇa of pitrs in the river, to seeing Gadādhara (Viṣṇu) at Gayā and to Gayāśīrṣa. Śankha (14 27–28) refers ¹⁶ to several tīrthas (one being Gayā) the offerings made at which become inexhaustible. The Likhita-Smṛti speaks¹⁷ of the importance of Gayā as follows: In whosesoever name a piṇḍa is offered at Gayāśiras, whether for oneself or for another, that person, if in hell, goes to heaven and if in heaven that man secures release (from saṃsāra). The Kūrmapurāṇa remarks that one should desire to have many sons so that if one out of them goes to Gayā on some other business and offers śrāddha, he thereby saves his pitṛs and himself reaches the highest goal. The Matsyapurāṇa (22. 4-6) quoted by the Kalpataru (on tīrtha p. 163) speaks of Gayā as pitṛtīrtha and as the best among tīrthas where Brahmā himself dwells and also has the verse 'estavyā bahavah putrāḥ'.

In the Gayāmāhātmya (Vāyupurāṇa, chapters 105-112) there are about 560 verseṣ An attempt will be made here to give a brief summary of it and some of the important verses will be quoteḍ Chapter 105 is general and briefly indicates some of the main topics dealt with in the following chapterṣ It states that in Śvetavārāhakalpa Gayā performed a sacrifice and Gayā was named after him¹⁸, that pitṛs hanker after sons because the son that goes to Gayā saves the pitṛs from hell¹⁹. At Gayā a man should offer piṇḍas to his father and others and even to himself but without sesame; all the five mortal sins like brāhmaṇa-murder are removed by the performance of śrāddha at Gayā. A piṇḍa offered after uttering the name and gotra of the recipient by the son or any other person in Gayā leads that person to the imperishable brahma²⁰ (i. e. results in four ways) viz. by knowledge of brahma, śrāddha at Gayā, death in (a fight for preventing) the seizure of cows and residence in Kurukṣetra and śrāddha at Gayā renders the others unnecessary ²¹. Śrāddha may be performed at Gayā at all times, even in an intercalary month, on the anniversary of one's birthday, or even when Jupiter and Venus are invisible or when Jupiter is in Leo. One should honour the brāhmaṇas (of Gayā) that were established there by Brahmā; when they are gratified all dęities together with the pitṛs are gratifieḍ Tonsure ²² and fast are to be observed at all tīrthas except in Kurukṣetra, Viśālā, Virajā and Gayā. An ascetic ²³ (sannyāsin) should not offer piṇḍas (at Gayā) but should merely exhibit (hold up) his staff and should put it down on Viṣṇupada. The (whole) Gayākṣetra is five krośas in extent and Gayāśiras is one krośa and all the tīrthas of the three worlds are centered in these two ²⁴. At Gayā one may offer (to pitṛs) piṇḍas by means of pāyasa (rice cooked in milk), boiled rice, barley flour, fruits and roots, the cake of sesame (after oil is extracted), sweetmeats or jagery with ghee or with curds alone or with invigorating honey. In a śrāddha at Gayā, the procedure consists in preparing ²⁵ a seat for the piṇḍas, the offering, the sprinkling of water again (on the kuśa grass), giving fees and declaration of dinner (to brāhmaṇas); but there is no invocation of pitṛs, no curtains for privacy and no blemish due to śrāddha being seen (by undesirable persons or animals) Those who desire to reap the full fruit of śrāddha performed at a tīrtha (like Gayā) must give up passionate longings, anger and avarice, observe celibacy, eat only one meal a day, should sleep on the ground (and not on a cot), should speak the truth, should be pure and intent on the good of all beingṣ The famous river Vaitaraṇī has come down to Gayā; one taking a bath in it and donating a cow saves 21 generations in his family. One should go to the Akṣayavaṭa and gratify the (Gayā) brāhmaṇaṣ There is no spot in Gayā which is not a sacred place.²⁶

Chap. 106 narrates the story of Gayāsura. Gayāsura, a very powerful asura 125 yojanas in height and 60 yojanas in girth, performed severe austerities for thousands of years on the mountain called Kolāhala. The gods, anxious and tormented by his austerities, went to Brahmā for protectioṇ Brahmā took them to Śiva who proposed to go to Viṣṇu. Brahmā and the gods praised Viṣṇu, who appeared to them and said that they should, riding their respective conveyances, go to Gayāsura. Viṣṇu asked him why he practised severe austerities and said that the boon he would ask would be granteḍ He asked the boon that he should be purer than all the gods, sages, mantras, ascetics &c. The gods said ‘Let it be so’ and left for heaveṇ All people who saw or touched Gayāsura's holy body went to heaveṇ The capital of Yama became deserted and so he went to Brahmā who took him to Viṣṇu who asked Brahmā to request Gayāsura to give his pure body for the purpose of a sacrifice. Gayāsura agreed and fell down on the earth towards the southwest with his head on the north on Kolāhala mountain and feet to the south. Brahmā collected materials and mind-born ṛtviks (about 40 are named) and performed a sacrifice on the body of Gayāsura. That body, however, was not stable but moved and hence Brahmā asked Yama to place on Gayāsura's head a śilā (stone slab) that was in Yama's house. Yama did so; yet Gayāsura's body together with the śilā still moveḍ Brahmā asked Śiva and other gods to stand immoveable on the śilā. They did so and yet the body moveḍ Hence Brahmā went to Viṣṇu and requested him to make the body and śilā stable. Viṣṇu gave his own mūrti and though it was placed on the śilā it still moveḍ Then Viṣṇu sat on the śilā in three forms viz Janārdana, Puṇḍarīka and Ādi-Gadādhara, Brahmā in five forms (Prapitāmaha, Pitāmaha, Phalguvīśa, Kedāra and Kanakeśvara), Vināyaka in the form of an elephant, the Sun in three forms, the Goddesses Lakṣmī (as Sitā), Gaurī (as Mangalā), Gāyatrī and Sarasvatī. As Gayāsura was made stable by the first Gadā (mace) wielded by Hari, therefore Hari was called Ādigadā- dhara.²⁷ Gayāsura complained 'why am I deceived? I have given my pure body to Brahmā for the latter's sacrifice. Would I not have become stable at the mere word of Viṣṇu (why tor- ment me with the mace?).' Then the gods asked him to choose a booṇ He chose 'As long as the earth, mountains, the Sun, Moon and stars last, may Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva and the other gods remain on the śīla⁷⁹ Let this sacred spot be known by my name. Let all tīrthas be centered in the midst of Gayā which is five krośas in extent and in Gayāśiras which is one krośa and do good to people. May all the gods remain here in manifest forms (images &c ) and unmanifest forms (such as footprints &c ) ' Those to whom śrāddha with pindas is offered may go to the world of Brahmā and all grave sins like brāhmaṇa-murder be destroyed at once.' The gods said 'Let it be so.' Then Brahmā gave to the brāhmaṇas Gayā (with its extent of five krośas), 55 villages, well-furnished houses, desire-yielding cow and trees, a river flowing with milk, golden wells, heaps of food, but enjoined on them not to beg from any one else. But the brāhmaṇas, greedy as they were, performed a sacrifice for Dharma in Dharmāranya and begged him for feeṣ Then Brahmā came, cursed them and took away everything from theṃ When the brāhmaṇas bewailed that they had been deprived of everything and their livelihood should be provided for, Brahmā said that they would live on the charity of pilgrims to Gayā and those who would honour them would be honouring Brahmā.

Chap. 107 deals with the story of the śīlā²⁸ that was placed on the head of Gayāsura for making it stable. Dharma had a daughter called Dharmavratā. Dharma could not find a bridegroom worthy of her virtues and accomplishments and asked her to perform tapas for the purpose. She performed severe austerities (subsisting only on air) for ten thousand yearṣ Marīci, one of the mind-born sons of Brahmā, once saw her and asked her to become his wife. Dharmavratā asked him to request her father Dharma. Marīci approached Dharma who gave her in marriage to Marici, who took her to his hermitage and had one hundred sons from her. Once Marici being tired lay down for sleep and asked Dharmavratā to shampoo his feet. While she shampooed his feet Brahmā (her father-in-law) came there. She left off shampooing her husband's feet and got up to receive with honour her husband's father. In the meanwhile Marici awoke and not seeing his wife cursed her to be a śilā (stone slab) as she disobeyed his order by giving up the shampooing of his feet. She being innocent of any fault got angry and was about to curse Marici but said 'Mahādeva will curse you'. She, standing in the midst of Gārhapatya fire, performed tapas and Marici also did the same. The gods led by Indra got anxious as usual and went to Viṣṇu who asked her to choose a booṇ She prayed that the curse pronounced by her husband be annulleḍ The gods said that Marici being a great sage the curse could not be annulled and asked her to choose some other booṇ She said that she should be a śilā more holy than all rivers, sages and gods and that all tīrthas should stand in the slab of stone, that those who would bathe in the tīrthas on the śilā and offer piṇḍas and śrāddha should be able to go to brahmaloka, that all holy rivers like the Ganges should always remain in her. The gods conceded what she prayed for and said that when she would become stable on the head of Gayāsura, they would all stand on the śilā.

Chap. 108 presents numerous divergences in the Mss In the Ānandāśrama edition its contents briefly are: The śilā was placed on the head of Gayāsura and therefore there was union of two very holy objects, on which Brahmā performed Aśvamedha and when the gods came to receive their share of the sacrificial offerings the śilā said to Viṣṇu and others 'promise that you would remain on the śilā and would bring about the release of pitṛs'. The gods agreed and they stayed on the śilā in the form of images and foot-printṣ As the śilā was placed on the back of the head of the asura the hill was called Muṇḍapṛṣṭha (lit. the back of the head) which gave Brahmaloka to pitṛṣ Then the chapter speaks of a hill called Prabhāsa, of Rāmatīrtha near the place where the great river (Phalgu) and Prabhāsa hill meet, the hermitage of Bharata, of Maṭangapada, of the baḷ to be offered to Yamarāja and Dharmarāja and to the dogs of Yama, viz. Śyāma and Śabala, of the Udyantaka hill near the left of Śilā, of Agastya-kuṇḍa, and numerous other holy places such as Gṛdhrakūṭa hill, the her- mitage of Cyavana, the river Punahpunā, Krauñca-pada, Janārdana on Bhasmakūṭa.

The story of Gayāsura has puzzled Mitra and subsequent writerṣ Mitra holds that nothing appears more absurd or stupid than the story of Gayāsura who, he emphasizes, is not a demon or a vicious monster, but a devout Vaiṣṇava ('Bodh-Gayā' pp. 15–16). The story of Gayāsura is not unique. The Purāṇas abound in stories that appear to modern minds absurd and puerile. Besides, there were several asuras like Prahlāda, Bāṇa (devotee of Śiva) and Bali (who was an exemplary and pious king and a worshipper of Viṣṇu) that were not monsters but good and devout persons, and yet fought with gods For example, Kūrmapurāṇa (I. 16. 59–60 and 91–92) narrates that Prahlāda fought with Nṛsimha; the Padma (Bhūmikhaṇḍa 1.8) calls him a Mahābhāgavata but states that he first fought with Viṣṇu and entered Vaiṣṇavītanu; while Vāmanapurāṇa (chap. 7–8) speaks of his fight with Narānārāyaṇa In Pali works (e. g. Anguttara-nikāya, part IV pp. 197–204) he is called Paharāda and asu pinda (asurendra). Vide Anguttara-nikāya (text) vol. IV p. 197. For Bali who was grandson of Prahlāda, a good king and a devotee of Viṣṇu, vide Brahmapurāṇa, chap. 73, Kūrma I, 17, Vāmana (chapters 77 and 92). For Bāṇa, son of Bali and the fight of Bāṇa helped by Śiva with Kṛṣṇa, vide Brahma chap. 205–206 and Viṣṇupurāṇa V. 33. 37–38.

According to Dr. Rajendralal Mitra (in ‘Bodh-Gayā’ pp. 14–18) the story of Gayāsura is an allegory of the vanquishing of Buddhism by Brahmanisṃ O’ Malley thought (J. A. S. B. vol. LXXII part 3 p. 7 for 1904) that the Gayāsura legend represents an amalgamation or compromise of Brahmanism with the popular demonolatry which preceded Brahmanisṃ Dr. Barua criticizes both theories and appears to hold (vol. I. pp. 40–41) that the idea underlying the legend is to impress on people’s minds the high sanctity of the Gayā range of hills along the western bank of the river Phalgu, that Gayā ²⁹ or Namuci or Vṛtra is represented as a demon of darkness and as an enemy of Indra and that the Vedic word Trivikraīṇa and the interpretation of Aurṇavābha are the nucleus of the legend of Gayāsura. From considerations of space it is not possible to discuss these theories here. To my mind it appears that Gayā had become a famous pīrttīrtha centuries before Christ and that the Gayāsura is a post fact attempt to account for the sanctity of the place and the numerous shrines and holy places that had sprung up round Gayā.

Chap. 109 deals with the questions how Ādi-Gadādhara abided in manifest and unmanifest forms, how his gadā (mace) was produced and how the tīrtha called Gadālola became a destroyer of all sinṣ There was a powerful Asura called Gada, who, when Brahmā. requested, gave up his bones to Viśvakarmā, at the desire of Brahmā, fashioned a wonderful mace out of the boneṣ In the times of Svāyambhuva Manu an Asura named Heti, son of Brahmā, performed severe austerities for thousands of divine yearṣ He secured from Brahmā and other gods the boon that he could not be killed by gods, daityas, men or with such weapons as the discus of Kṛṣṇa and otherṣ Heti conquered the gods and became Indra. The gods went to Hari and requested him to kill Heti. He asked for a powerful weapon and the gods gave him the mace manufactured from the bones of Gada and Viṣṇu killed Heti with the Gadā. This story about demon Heti is mentioned in Agni 114 26-27 and Nāradīya (uttara) 47. 9-11. Hari is called Ādi-Gadādhara because³⁰ he was the first to wield that mace and stood on the silā on the head of Gayāsura, supported by the Gadā, in order to make (the head of Gayāsura) stable. He shows himself in the form of hills viz. the Muṇḍapṛṣṭha hill, the Prabhāsa and other hillṣ These and Akshayavata, Phalgu and other rivers are the non-manifest forms of Ādigadādhara. The Viṣṇupada, Rudrapada, Brahma- pada and other padas are the non-manifest and manifest forms of Gadādhara.³¹ The image of Gadādhara is purely a mani- IV] fest forṃ Asura Heti was killed by Viṣṇu and went to Viṣṇu-loka. When the body of Gayāsura was made stable Brahmā sang a hymn of praise to Viṣṇu who asked Brahmā to choose a booṇ Brahmā said ‘we (gods) shall not abide in the śilā with-out you, but shall remain therein together with you if you have a manifest form’.³² Viṣṇu said ‘be it so’ and Viṣṇu stood on Gayāśiras in the Adigadādhara form and as Janārdana and Pundarīkāksa. Śiva also praised Viṣṇu (Vāyu 109. 43-50). The Vāyu speaks at several places of ‘vyaktāvyakta’ symbols of the deity (chap. 109. 20 and 43-45) What is meant is Viṣṇu is non-manifest in Phalgu, vyaktāvyakta in Visnupada and manifest in images and statues (vide Tristhalisetu p. 365, prati-māsvārūpī vyaktah).

Chap. 110 deals with Gayāyātrā. To the east of Gayā is a great river (Phalgu). (If it is dry) one should dig a pit for water and take a bath, should perform tarpana and śrāddha according to one’s own recension of the Veda, but without arghya (water for showing respect) and āvāhana (invoking) In the after- noon the pilgrim should go to the Pretāśilā, take a bath in the Brahmakunda, offer tarpaņa to the gods and perform śrāddha of his sapindas on the Pretāśilā with the mantras set out in Vāyu (110. 10–12) and offer piņḑas to his ancestorṣ In Aṣṭakās, in Vrddhiśrāddha, at Gayā and on the anniversary of death, one may offer a śrāddha separately to one's mother but on all other occasions with her husbanḍ³⁴ To the sapindas other than one's paternal ancestors he should offer śrāddha to the south (of the place where he offers to his father &c.) viz. should spread kuśas and once offer water mixed with sesame and should offer them a piņḑa made of barley flour and repeat the mantras (Vāyu 110. 21–22). The piņḑas to be offered at Gayāśiras may be in size as ³⁵ big as one's closed hand, or an undried āmalaka (myrobalan) fruit or of the size of śami leaveṣ By means of these he saves seven gotras viz. that of his father, of his mother, of his wife, sister, daughter, paternal aunt and maternal aunt. Water mixed with sesame and piņḑas are offered to all persons on the maternal grandfather's side, to all bandhus, to all infants, to persons cremated or not cremated, to persons that were killed by lightning or robbers or that commit-ted suicide in various ways and,to those who may be undergo-ing torments of Hells of various kinds and those who have become beasts or birds or insects or trees owing to evil deeds (Vāyu 110, verses 30–55). The verses of most comprehensive character about offering water have been cited in ṇ 1237 p. 550 and on pp. 616–617 above.

Chap. 111 deals with the order in which the several tīrthas are to be visiteḍ The full pilgrimage lasts for seven dayṣ In chap. 110 it has been stated as shown above that on entering Gayā, a pilgrim takes a bath in the Phalgu water, performs tarpaņa and śrāddha, then on the same day he goes to the Pretāśilā (which is a part of the Śilā as stated in Vāyu 108 15) and performs a śrāddha there and offers piņḑas with boiled rice and ghee (Vāyu 110.15). On doing this the persons for whom this is done become free from the position of preta. It is stated (in Vāyu 108. 17-22) that one should bathe in the Rāmātīrtha which is near the place where Phalgu meets the Prabhāsa hill. By bath in Rāmātīrtha and offering of śrāddha and piṇḍa there the persons for whom this is done become pitṛs (being already free from pretatva by the śrāddha on pretaśilā). On a hill on the south of Pretaśilā one should offer a bali (food offered with kuśa, sesame and water) to Yamarāja and Dharmarāja and to the two dogs Śyāma and Śabala. On the next day after entering Gayā (i. e. the 2nd day), the pilgrim should proceed to the Pretaparvata³⁶ (Vāyu 110.8) and take a bath in the Brahmakuṇḍa and perform tarpana, śrāddha and giving of piṇḍas mixed with sesame, ghee, curds and honey to his ancestors (father, grandfather &c.) with the mantras ‘pitā pitāmahaścaiva’ (Vāyu 110. 23-24). Then the pilgrim should offer on kuśas, water, sesame and piṇḍas to persons related in various ways with the mantras ‘asmat-kule mṛtā ye ca &c., (Vāyu 110. 34-55). He should then invoke the gods to be witnesses to the fact of his having come to Gayā and become free from the debt to the ancestors (Vāyu 110. 59-60). It is stated in Vāyu 110.61 that at all sacred spots in Gayā the offering of piṇḍas should be done in the same way as at Pretaparvata³⁷.

On the third day of entering Gayā one has to perform Pañcatīrthī rites³⁸ (Vāyu 111. 1 ff.). The pilgrim first bathes in Uttaramanasa, offers tarpana to gods, gives water and śrāddha and piṇḍas to his ancestors with the mantras (Vāyu 110. 21-24). The fruit of this rite is the inexhaustible gratification of the pitṛs. Then the pilgrim goes to the three tīrthas which constitute Dakṣiṇamānasa, viz. Udīcītīrtha (on the north), Kanakhala (in the middle) and Dakṣiṇamānasa ( on the south ). At each of these three there is a śrāddha. Then the pilgrim goes to the Phalgutīrtha, which is the best of all (Gayā) tīrthaṣ The pilgrim performs tarpaṇa and śrāddha with piṇḍas on Phalgu. This śrāddha at Phalgu results in mukti for the performer and also for those for whose benefit it is performed (muktir-bhavati kartṛṇām pitṛṇām śrāddhatah sadā, Vāyu 110. 13). It is stated that Phalgu is Ādi-Gadādhara himself in a fluid forṃ³⁹ By bath in Phalgu and seeing Gadādhara a man saves himself, ten ancestors and ten descend- antṣ Then he worships Gadādhara by a bath with pañcāmṛta after bowing³⁹ to Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Viṣṇu, Śrīdhara. On the 2nd day of the Pañca- tīrthī rites (i. e. 4th day from entering Gayā) the pilgrim should repair to Dharmāraṇya which is so-called because Dharma per- formed a sacrifice there. Then the pilgrim should bathe in the Matanga-vāpī (which is situated in Dharmāraṇya), then he should perform tarpaṇa, śrāddha and piṇḍadāna at the well called Brahmātīrtha and also in the space between Brahma- tīrtha and Brahmayūpa; then bow to Brahmā and Dharm- eśvara.⁴⁰ He should bow to the Mahābodhi tree (i. e. the sacred pippala) and perform śrāddha also underneath it. Agni 115. 34-37 and Nāradīya (uttara) 45. 104 refer to these tīrthaṣ On the third day of the Pañcatīrthī rites (i. e. on 5th day from entering Gayā) the pilgrim should bathe in Brahmasaras and perform śrāddha with piṇḍas between the Brahmakūpa and the Yūpa (sacrificial post ) raised by Brahmā when he performed a sacrifice. By this śrāddha the pilgrim saves his pitṛṣ⁴¹ He should go round the Brahma-yūpa and bow to Brahmā. There are mango trees near Gopracāra establish- ed by Brahmā. By watering a mango with water from the Brahmasaras the pitṛs attain mokṣa. Here follows the verse ('eko muniḥ' &c.) quoted above (n 1493). Then a bali should be offered to Yama and Dharmarāja, then to the two dogs of Yama, then he should offer a bali to crows and then bathe (in Brahmasaras). This is briefly a summary of Vāyu 111 30– 40. Some of these details are mentioned by Agni 115. 34–40 and Nāradīya (uttara) 46. Then on the 4th day of the Pañca- tīrthī rites (i. e. 6th day from entrance into Gayā ) the pilgrim should take an ordinary bath in the Phalgu and should then perform śrāddhas at the several padas on Gayāśiras which is near Phalgutīrtha. Gayāśiras extends from Krauñcapāda up to Phalgutīrtha. Śrāddha offered here (on Gayāśiras) becomes inexhaustible.⁴² Here Ādi-Gadādhara abides in the form of Viṣṇupada. By performing a śrāddha with piṇḍas on Viṣṇu- pada (which is a footprint on a slab deemed to be of Viṣṇu ) the pilgrim saves one thousand families and takes them and himself to the blissful, inexhaustible and never-ending world of Viṣṇu. Then Vāyu 111. 47–56 deal with the rewards of śrāddhas performed at Rudrapada, Brahmapada and 14 other padas expressly named by it.⁴³ ‘For whomsoever by name a pilgrim offers a piṇḍa on Gayāśiras, that man, if in hell, goes to heaven and if in heaven he secures mokṣa.'

On the 5th day of the Pañcatīrthī rites (i. e. the 7th day from entering Gayā ), the pilgrim should bathe in the sacred place called Gadālola.⁴⁴ By performing śrāddha with piṇḍas at Gadālola he takes his pitṛs and himself to the world of Brahmā. Then at the Akṣayavaṭa he should perform a śrāddha and honour the ( Gayā ) brāhmaṇas established by Brahmā with offerings and food When they are gratified gods together with pitṛs become gratified,⁴⁵ Then the pilgrim should bow to the Aksayavata and worship it with a mantra and also bow to worship Prapitāmaha. Agni 115. 69–73 and Nāradīya (uttara) chap. 47 also refer to these.

The Tristhālīsetu (p 368) remarks that the above are the fixed rites for seven days in Gayā, that other tīrthas may be visited according to one’s convenience if one stays in Gayā for half a month or a month ; that the śrāddha at the Pretaśilā is to be the first and that at the Aksayavata is to be performed at the end,⁴⁶ and that although there is variation between the order in which tīrthas are to be visited on the several days according to the Vāyupurāṇa, the Agnipurāṇa and other purāṇas, yet as the Vāyupurāṇa is most detailed as regards Gayā rites, the order therein should be followed and that one not knowing the order may visit the tīrthas in any order⁴⁷ except Pretaśilā and Aksayavata. Gayāyātrā, chapter 112 of the Vāyupurāṇa, refers to king Gayā who performed a yajña and who got two boons, one about the restoration of the Gayā brāhmaṇas to favour and the other that Gayāpurī be named after him and who then went to Viṣṇuloka. Then it narrates the story of king Viśāla (verses 7–15) who being sonless performed piṇḍadāna on Gayāśirṣa and thereby saved his three ancestors, got a son and also himself went to heaveṇ Then another story is told (verses 16–20) of a deceased person, who was in the condition of a preta, offering one-sixth of his property, to a trader and asking him to perform Gayāśrāddha with the rest of his wealth and who on account of śrāddha at Gayā became free from the condition of preta.⁴⁸ Then verses 20–60 mention several other tīrthas of Gayā such as Gayātrītīrtha, Prācī-sarasvatītīrtha, Viśālā, Lelihāna, the hermitage of Bharata, Mundaprstha, Ākāśagangā, Vaitaranī and other rivers and sacred placeṣ It winds up by saying that six Gayās confer mukti (by worship and piṇḍadāna at them) viz. Gayāgaja, Gayāditya, Gayātrī (tīrtha), Gadādhara, Gayā and Gayāśiraṣ⁴⁹

The Agnipurāṇa (chap 116. 1-34) has a long list of tīrthas at Gayā that is quoted by the Tristhalisetu pp. 376-378, which are passed over here.

Though the number of tīrthas at Gayā is very large, the majority of pilgrims do not visit them all. Visits to three places are absolutely necessary for every pilgrim to Gayā, viz. Phalgu river, Viṣṇupada and Akṣayavaṭa, at all of which worship has to be done with milk, water, flowers, sandalwood paste, tāmbūla, lighted lamp and piṇḍas to ancestors have to be offereḍ The Viṣṇupada temple is built over the footprint of Viṣṇu on the rock to the west of the river Phalgu. The old town of Gayā was built round Viṣṇupada and it is the largest and most important temple in Gayā. The footprint (about 16 inches in length) deemed to be God Viṣṇu's is inside an octa- goal basin plated with silver. Pilgrims of all castes (except untouchables) surround the basin and cast their offerings in- side the basin, though for a substantial payment the priests clear out all people, shut the door for a minute or two and allow a very orthodox or a rich person to make his offerings without being disturbed by anyone else. There are 45 vedis (or sacred places) at which the leisured pilgrim may offer piṇḍas in the Gayākṣetra which extends from about five miles to the north-west of Old Gayā town to about 7 miles south of it. Though the ancient Buddhist works and Fa Hien and Hiouen Thsang make a distinction between Gayā and Uruvilyā or Uruvelā where Buddha attained Enlightenment after six years of severe tapas, the Bodhi tree (Mahābodhitaru) was recognized by the Gayāmāhātmya as one of the sacred places which Hindu pilgrims should visit and is so regarded even now. When the Hindus appropriated Buddhist sacred places to themselves it is difficult to say. The Bodhi tree is the oldest historical tree in the worlḍ A branch of it is said to have been transplanted to Ceylon in the times of the great Emperor Aśoka (about 250 B.C) and at Kandy in Ceylon a pippala tree is even now shown as that transplanted tree or the successor of that branch. The Gayāśīrṣa⁵⁰ is a set of rocky hills such as Gayāpreṣṭha, Prabhāsa, Gṛdhrakūṭa, Nāgakūṭa, ranging over one krośa (about two miles).

It has been already stated above (p 666) that the rites at the Akṣayavaṭa are the last in the pilgrimage to Gayā. The Gayāwāl priest binds the thumbs or hands of the pilgrim with a garland of flowers and receives his fees He gives sweetmeats to the pilgrim as prasāda, applies tilaka to the pilgrim's forehead, touches the pilgrim on his back, pronounces the word ‘suphala’ (the pilgrimage has been fruitful or successful), declares that the pilgrim's ancestors have gone to heaven and blesses the pilgriṃ It must be noted that there is a special class of priests called Dhāmīn who alone (and not the ordinary Gayāwals) have the right of officiating at five vedis viz. at Preṭaśilā, Rāmaśilā, Rāmakunda, Brahmakunda and Kākabali, that are situated on or about the two hills Rāmaśilā and Preṭaśilā (vide Bengal District Gazetteers, vol 12 for Gayā p. 66) They are regarded as inferior in status to the regular Gayāwālṣ

One important question on which there is great divergence of views among the medieval digests is about the ancestors to whom śrāddha is to be offered at Gayā. In the Vāyu and other Purāṇas it is frequently said that he who performs śrāddha at Gayā becomes free from the debt due to the pitṛs⁵¹ or that what is offered to the pitṛs at Gayā, Dharmapraṣṭha, Brahma-saras, or on the Gayāśīrṣa and under the imperishable Vaṭa tree becomes inexhaustible. In most of these passages the plural of the word ‘pitṛ’ is useḍ Therefore it follows that śrāddha is to be offered in Gayā to three paternal ancestorṣ And on account of a verse attributed to Gautamia,⁵² the three male maternal ancestors also are to be offered śrāddha. The difference arises with reference to the wives of these six male paternal and maternal ancestorṣ The Agnipurāṇa proposes an option (115 10) that the devatās in Gayā-śrāddha are nine or twelve. When they are to be nine, the śrāddha is for three paternal ancestors, three male ancestors of the mother and the wives of the latter three male ancestors, while there is a separate śrāddha for the mother, paternal grand-mother and paternal great-grandmother. If there are to be twelve devatās in Gayā-śrāddha, then all the wives of the paternal ancestors and of maternal ancestors would be included in one śrāddha. Aparārka allowed an option (as in Agni) in Gayā-śrāddha.⁵³ According to the Smṛtyarthasāra⁵⁴ and Hemādri the Anvaṣṭakā-śrāddha and Gayā-śrāddha for the paternal ancestors and that for the wives of these (i. e. mother, paternal grandmother &c.) must always be separate, but the śrāddha for the mother's paternal ancestors and their wives should be one (and therefore the devatās will be nine). Yama (verse 80) appears to hold that the mother, paternal grandmother and paternal great-grandmother are always to be associated with their respective husbands in śrāddha. Some held that the devatās of Gayā-śrāddha were only six viz the three male paternal ancestors and three male maternal ancestorṣ⁵⁵ The Tri. S ultimately remarks that the usage of the country should be the deciding principle The Prajāpati-smṛti (183-184) has some rather contradictory views as to when there would be 12 or 9 or 6 devatās in a śrāddha, When there are twelve devatās, the saṁkalpa at the Pretasila-śrāddha which is the model of all the śrāddhas at the other sacred spots in Gayā (with suitable modifications) will be as noted below.⁵⁶

It should be noted that there are certain special characteristics of Gayāśrāddha. There is no tonsure (Vāyu 83. 18 and note 1485 above). One must honour the Gayāwals alone, and not other brāhmaṇas, however learned they may be; one should not consider the family or character or learning of Gayā brāhmaṇas (vide p. 579 above and note 1313). But it has to be remembered that Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa⁵⁷ did not accept this for all śrāddhas t Gayā, but only as to the śrāddha under the Akṣaya- vaṭa, since the Vāyu (111. 79-80) again refers under Akṣaya- vaṭa to the worship of Gayā brāhmaṇas and since following the maxim of ‘caturdhākaraṇa’ laid down in Jai. III 1 26-27 the later specific provision narrows down the wide words used in the earlier passage. At Gayā one could offer piṇḍa to oneself but without sesame.⁵⁸ The Tri S. (p 350) observes (relying on Vāyu) that when a man offers a piṇḍa to himself, it should be in the hands of the image of Janārdana on Bhasmakūṭa⁶⁰ and that the pilgrim to Gayā can offer a piṇḍa to himself only when it is certain that he has no son or other adhikarīṇ for offering śrāddha. Further, any one related or unrelated, could offer a piṇḍa ⁶¹ to anybody, as laid down in Vāyu ‘Whether it is one’s own son or the son of another (who offers), in whosesoever name a piṇḍa is let fall at Gayā, that man attains everlasting Brahma It is desired that anyone may offer a piṇḍa to anybody after uttering that person’s name and gotra and the latter reaches the highest goal ’ There are several works, printed and in mss, that deal with the procedure of Gayāśrāddha. There is the Gayāśrāddha-paddhati of Vācaspati printed at the Chandraprabha press, Benares city, the tīrtha-yātrā-tattva of Raghunandana (which contains a Gayā- paddhati) published in Bengali characterṣ Then I consulted two msṣ viz the Gayā-śrāddha-paddhati of Raghunātha son of Mādhava (D. C. mṣ No. 93 of 1891–95) and the Gayāśrāddha-vidhi of Vācaspati (D. C No 245 of 1887–91). The procedure in the Tīrthayātrā-tattva of Raghunandana is set out here briefly with-out actually citing in full the Vāyupurāṇa passages which it quotes profusely. Raghunandana appears to follow the Tīrtha-cintāmaṇi closely as some of the notes will show. After the pilgrim enters Gayā he should first make an appropriate saṅkalpa⁶² for a bath in Phalgu, take the clay from the river, apply it to his body and bathe Then he should perform tarpaṇa⁶³ to the twelve male and female ancestors (specified in note 1516 above) Then he should declare a saṅkalpa that he would per-form Gayāśrāddha with the words ‘Om! adyetyādi Gayātīrtha-prāpti-nimittaka-śrāddhamaham karişye’. Then he should per-form a pūrvaṇa-śrāddha (described above pp. 485–505) excepting the āvāhana and arghya rites If the pilgrim be unable to per-form all the details of śrāddha, he may offer only piṇḍaṣ Then on the same day he should go to the Pretaśilā which adjoins the west bank of the river Phalgu and is to the north of Gayā and perform śrāddha there as follows : he should perform the purification of the ground, sit down on it, perform ācamana, face the south, wear the sacred thread in the apasavya form, recite the verses (Vāyu 110 10–12 ‘Kavyavalo...śrāddhenānena śāśvatim), contemplate on his pitṛs, perform prāṇāyāma, sprinkle water on the materials for śrāddha after remembering Puṇḍarīkākṣa (Viṣṇu), make the saṅkalpa (set out in note 1516). He should go through the whole procedure of śrāddha up to the payment of dakṣiṇā to brāhmaṇaṣ After this he should sit to the south of the altar (where he performed the śrāddha), should wear the sacred thread in the apasavya form, face the south, place on the ground three kusas and after reciting the mantra (Vāyu 110. 10–12 ) should make an invocation once in the form of offering an añjali of water mixed with sesame, then honour the father with pādya (water for washing the feet), recite the two verses (Vāyu 110. 20-21 'ā brahma.. tilodakam' with om prefixed), perform invocation as before of the father and others with water in folded hands and should offer a piṇḍa to his father of pāyasa or other material mixed with sesame, water and honey with the words 'Om, adya amuka-gotra pitar-amukadevasar-man, eṣa te piṇḍaḥ svadhā'. In this way he should offer piṇḍa to the remaining eleven devatās, viz. paternal grandfather and others (or eight or five according to usage). He should donate a fee according to his meanṣ Then he should sit to the south of the place he so far occupied, spread on the ground kuśas having roots but with tips turned to the south, should repeat the mantras (Vāyu 110 10-12), perform on those kuśas once an invocation in the form of an añjali of water mixed with sesame, repeat the two verses (Vāyu 110. 22-23 'Pitā pitāmaha...mupatisthatām' with om prefixed ⁶³) and should offer one piṇḍa made of one handful of barley flour mixed with sesame, kuśas, ghee, curds, water and honey to all the twelve devatās (ancestors) together. Then follows what is called Ṣoḍaśīkarma, which is as followṣ Nineteen spots for piṇḍas should be made (each to the south of the preceding) and should be smeared with pañcagavya one after another; then he should spread over each kuśas with their tips to the south, should invoke on the kuśas the persons intended with the mantras (Vāyu 110. 30-32 'asmat-kule mṛtā... tilodakaih'), should worship them by offering sandalwood paste and the rest, (and if he is performing the rite of ṣoḍaśī on a spot sacred to a specific deity then worship that deity also with an appropriate mantra ), should then offer once as before an añjali of water mixed with sesame and offer piṇḍas beginning from the first spot, each piṇḍa being offered after reciting each of the 19 mantras (Vāyu 110. 34-55, omitting 110.44 'asipatva o', 110. 46 'anekāyatāna-samsthāh ye nitā o', and treating 52-53 as one mantra and 54-55 as one mantra) ⁶³. He should offer 19 piṇḍaṣ of the size already stated and made of the material already mentioned with the sacred thread in the apasavya forṃ Raghu- nandana explains that although there are nineteen pindas still this is called śrāddhasoḍaśī as a technical terṃ⁶⁴ It would be noticed that all the mantras refer to males in the words 'ye', 'te', 'tebhyaḥ'. So this is 'Pūrṇ-soḍaśī.' There is a 'stri-soḍaśī' also which only involves changing the words of the mantras in the masculine to words in the feminine gender as indicated in the Vāyupurāṇa itself.⁶⁵ Otherwise there is no difference between the two (pumsoḍaśī and strisodaśī). The note below states the mode in which both males and females are to be invoked and gratifieḍ

Water should be sprinkled over all pindas three times with a vessel full of water mixed with sesame. The mantras repeated at the time are quoted below in the note.⁶⁶ Then he prostrates himself on the ground and should dismiss (send away) them (the persons invoked) with the words 'O father and others! forgive me.' Then wearing the sacred thread in the savya form, he should sip water (perform ācamana) and recite with his face to the east the two mantras (Vāyu 110. 59-60 sākṣināḥ santu, and 'āgatosmi Gayām'). If a pilgrim is unable to carry out all this lengthy procedure, he should at least offer pindas on Pretaśīla, by making a sankalpa (like the one in note 1516 saying 'pindaḍānam' for śrāddham). He should wear the sacred thread in the apasavya mode and repeat the verses in Vāyu (110. 10-12 and 110. 59-60) and should perform according to his sūtra the various items such as drawing lines on the altar meant for placing pindas, spreading kuśas, sprinkling down water on the pindas, the offering of pindas, re-sprinkling water, holding one's breath, loosening the knot of one's garment, offering a thread and sandalwood paste.

Then the pilgrim should descend from the hill (Pretaśilā) to the ground below and should bathe in the deep pool well-known as Rāmatīrtha ⁶⁷ (which is in the form of Prabhāsa-hrada) at the meeting place of the great river (Phalgu) with the Prabhāsa hill after making a sankalpa (as given in the foot-note) and after repeating the mantra 'janmāntarasatam' (Vāyu 108 18). He should then perform tarpana and perform śrāddha or (if unable to offer śrāddha) offer only piṇḍas accord-ing to the procedure of his own gṛhyasūtra. He should offer as done in the Pretaśilā śrāddha twelve piṇḍas to the father and the others, the single inexhaustible piṇḍa and the ṣoḍaśi-piṇḍaṣ If he cannot go through all these, he may perform any one of theṃ Then he should make a sankalpa and should offer obeisance to Rāma with the mantra 'Rāma Rāma' (Vāyu 108.20). When a pilgrim performs this bath, śrāddha and piṇḍadāna his pitṛs become free from the condition of being preta (Vāyu 108. 21). Then he should perform obeisance to the refulgent Prabhāseśa (Śiva). He should offer obeisance to both Rāma and Prabhāseśa with the mantra 'āpastvamasi' (Vāyu 108. 22) Then he should offer a bali of boiled rice to Yama with the words 'this is a bali, om ! bow to Yama.' Then on a hill called Nāga situated to the south of Prabhāsa hill and on the middle of Pretaśilā he should recite the verse 'dvau śvānau' (Vāyu 108.30) and offer a bali made up of some kind of cooked food with the words 'this is a bali to Yamarāja and Bhramarāja (Dharma-rāja?); salutation' This offering of bali is obligatory (on every pilgrim); the rest may be done according to one's ability. This finishes the rites on the first day (i. e. the day of entering Gayā).

On the 2nd day of entering Gayā the pilgrim should bathe in Phalgu, perform his daily duty of tarpana and worship of gods and then in the afternoon bathe in Brahmakuṇḍa ⁶⁸ situated in the north-east corner which touches the root of Pretaparvata, that is at the distance of a gavyūti from Gayā, and that (Brahmakuṇḍa) is situated to the north-west of Gayā. The śrāddha performed here is believed to be performed on the altar of Brahma (i. e. where Brahmā performed his Asvamedha). Then he should with the face to the south throw on Prataparvata barley grains mixed with sesame with the mantra 'ye kecit' (Vāyu 110 63 q both by Tīr. C. p. 297 and by Raghunandana) and offer an añjali of water mixed with sesame with the mantra 'a-brahma' (Vāyu 110.64).¹⁵²⁸

On the third day after entering Gayā come the rites of Pañcatīrthī described above (pp. 663-666). The pilgrim bathes¹⁵²⁹ in the Uttaramānasa with the mantra 'uttare mānase snānam' (Vāyu 111. 2-3). He should offer one añjali with the verses (Vāyu 110. 20-21) and perform śrāddha. After this śrāddha he sits to the south of Uttara-mānasa, spreads kusas with tips towards the south, offers water with sesame and offers to all together one pinda of one handful of barley flour mixed with sesame, kuśas, honey, curds and water Then he bows to and worships the Sun's image on Uttaramānasa with the mantra 'namostu bhānave' (Vāyu 111 5). Then he repairs to Rudramānasa in silence and there takes a bath in Udicī tīrtha, in Kanakhala and then in Dakṣiṇamānasa with the mantra (Vāyu 111 9-10) and then performs salutation and worship to Dakṣiṇārka, then makes a bow to Maunārka, then goes to Phalgu tīrtha situated to the east of Gadādhara and takes a bath and performs tarpana and śrāddha there; then he worships Pitāmaha (with Vāyu 111. 19), visits Gadādhara and worships (with Vāyu 111.21), then again goes to the five tīrthas, at each of which he bathes and performs tarpana Then he bathes the image of Gadādhara with pañcāmṛta. Raghu- nandana notes that the bathing of Gadādhara with pañcāmṛta is obligatory, while the rest may be done according to one's ability. This finishes the rites of pañcatīrthī.

The various tīrthas to be visited after Pañcatīrthī have been mentioned above It is not necessary to repeat them here. The special mantras from the Vāyupurāṇa cited by Raghu- nandana will alone be specified here. After bath and śrāddha at Matangavāpī, the pilgrim should go to the north of Matangavāpī and recite Vāyu 111. 25 (pramānam devatāh santu &c). When pouring water at the root of the mango tree established by Brahmā the pilgrim repeats Vāyu 111. 36 (āmram brahma-sarodbhūtam &c.). When bowing to Brahmā, the mantra is Vāyu 111. 34 (namo brahman &c.). The bali to Yama is offered with Vāyu 111. 38 (Yamarāja-dharmarājau &c.). The bali to the two dogs is to be given with the mantra (Vāyu 111. 39) and that to the crows with Vāyu 111. 40 (Aindra-vāruna-vāyavya &c). As regards the padas the pilgrim should begin with Rudrapada and perform śrāddha there and then proceed to Viṣṇupada and worship Viṣṇu with five upacāras⁷¹ with the mantra 'Idam Viṣṇur-vi cakrame' (Rg. I 22. 17). To the south of the vedi of Viṣṇupada he should perform the śrāddhasodaśī (described above pp 672-673) up to Vāyu 110. 60 (anṛṇosham-ṛṇatrayāt). About an ascetic, vide above p. 655.

Then Raghunandana briefly touches upon the śrāddhas to be performed at the several padas and remarks that the last śrāddha at the padas is that at Kāśyapapada. He prescribes Vāyu 111. 76 as the mantra for bath in Gadalola-tīrtha. Then he states that the śrāddha at the Akṣayavata is to be performed on the north side of the Vaṭa near its bottoṃ He prescribes Vāyu 111. 82-83 (ekārṇave &c ) as the mantras for bowing to the Akṣayavaṭa. Further, he speaks of śrāddhas to be performed at several sub-tīrthas, such as Gayatrī, Sarasvatī, Viśālā, the hermitage of Bharata, Mundapṛṣṭha. Then he prescribes that the pilgrim should cross the Vaitaraṇī (situated to the east of the Devanadi which is near Bhasmakūṭa) with the mantra (Vāyu 105. 44, yāsau Vaitaraṇī nāma &c ). After referring to several other tīrthas such as Gopracāra, Ghṛtakulyā, Madhukulyā, Raghunandana recommends that the pilgrim should visit Pāṇḍuśīlā (which is in Campakavana near Pitāmaha) and perform śrāddha there. He notes that the four rivers and streams called Ghṛtakulyā, Madhukulyā, Devikā and Mahānadī⁷² (Phalgu) are called Madhusravā when they meet the Śilā (Vāyu 112.30) and a bath, tarpana and śrāddha thereon yield immense resultṣ Then are mentioned several other tīrthas such as Daśāśvamedha, Matangapada, Makha-kunda (near Udyanta parvata), Gayākūṭa. Raghunandana winds up by providing hand in the hand of Janārdana a piṇḍa mixed with curds (but without sesame) and on doing so recite five verses (Vāyu 108. 86-90, ⁷³ ‘esa piṇḍo maya’ &c.). Then Raghunandana quotes sixteen verses about Mātṛṣoḍaśī (which do not occur in Vāyu-purāṇa and are passed over here).

We have to distinguish between Gayākṣetra, Gayā and Gayāśiras or Gayāśīrṣa. The Vāyu, Agni and Nāradīya all assert that Gayākṣetra is five krośas⁷⁴ (in extent) and Gayā-śiras is one krośa. It had become the fashion to speak of famous tīrthas like Kāśī and Prayāga as pañcakrośa. But so far as the Vāyupurāṇa is concerned the Gayākṣetra is about 13 miles in length from Pretasilā to Mahābodhi tree as shown above. Gayā is said to be two krośas and a half in extent in all directions from Mundapṛṣṭha⁷⁵. Gayāśiras is smaller than Gayā and is identified with Phalgutīrtha (vide note 1499). Gayā and Gayasisa (Pāli for Gayāśīrsa) are well known to ancient Buddhist texts (Mahāvagga I 21. 1 in S. B. E. XIII p. 136, Anguttaranikāya, text vol IV. p. 302). Vide ṇ 1510

Four of the most important and holy tīrthas have been dealt with at some length so far. It is not possible in the space allotted to the section on tīrthas to pursue the same procedure as regards other famous tīrthaṣ It is proposed to devote a few pages to each of half a dozen or more tīrthas and then to give a somewhat comprehensive list of tīrthas with a few references in the case of each. But before proceeding further reference must be made to certain popular groupings of tīrthaṣ There is a group of seven cities that are deemed to be very holy and The bestowers of mokṣa.⁷⁶ They are Ayodhyā, Mathurā, Māyā (i. e. Haridvāra ), Kāśī, Kāñcī, Avantikā (i. e. Ujjayinī), Dvārakā. In some works it is Kāntī and not Kāñcī that is mentioneḍ Badarinātha, Jagannātha Purī, Rāmeśvara and Dvārakā—these four are styled Dhāma There are said to be twelve Jyotirlingas of Śiva, according to the Śivapurāṇa viz. Somanātha ⁷⁷ in Saurāṣṭra, Mallikārjuna on Śrīśaila hill (in Karnul District and about 50 miles from the Krishna station on the G. I. P. Railway ), Mahākāla (in Ujjayinī), Parameśvara in Omkāra-kṣetra (an island in the Narmadā ), Kedāra in the Himālayas, Bhīmāśaṅkara (north-west of Poona at the source of the Bhīmā river) in Ḍākinī, Viśveśvara in Banaras, Tryambakeśvara on the banks of the Gautamī i. e Godāvarī (near Nasik), Vaidyanātha in Citābhūmi, Nāgeśa in Darukāvana, Rāmeśvara in Setubandha and Ghṛṣṇeśa ⁷⁸ in Śivālaya (i. e the modern shrine at the village of Elura, 7 miles from Devagiri or Daulatabad). The Śivapurāṇa (Kotirudra-saṃhitā) chap. 1 names the twelve Jyotirlingas and chapters 14-33 narrate the legends connected with the twelve lingaṣ The Skandapurāṇa I (Kedārakhanda) chap. 7 verses 30-35 enumerate several lingas including most of the twelve Jyotirlingaṣ The Bārhaspatyasūtra (edited by Dr. F. W. Thomas) mentions eight great tīrthas each of Viṣṇu, Śiva and Śakti, that yield all siddhis ⁷⁸.