DEATH AND AFTER

Continuing with his narration, Lord Krishna said--" O Garuda! Death comes at the predetermined time, which remains fixed and unaltered under all circumstances. A man's sense organs become weak and his body feeble, which gets inflicted with numerous diseases in his old age. At the time of his death, man experiences unbearable pain and he begins to loose his consciousness. Yamdoots arrive and begin to retrieve the soul from the body and this aggravates the pain. Ultimately, the soul, which is not more than the size of a thumb, reluctantly comes out from the body as the attachment with the world exists even after his death. But, a virtuous person does not go through all these painful experiences at the time of his death. The soul has to take birth in different species as well as go through cycles of countless births, deaths and rebirths in order to taste the fruits of his Karmas.

Describing the significance of 'Pinda daan' rituals, Lord Vishnu told Garuda that they are performed so that manes are satiated. He also revealed to him that six pinda daans are offered to the manes while performing the rituals of last rites-- " The first 'pinda-daan' is made at the place where person has breathed his last while the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth 'Pinda daans' are made at the main entrance of the house, the nearest cross-roads, the cremation ground, on the pyre itself and at the time of collecting last remains (Asthi) respectively.

After reaching the cremation ground the dead body should be laid down with its head towards south. The mortal body then should be consigned to flames and after some time sesame seeds and ghee should be poured into the burning pyre so that it continues to burn without any problem. For the next ten days the relatives coming from the same gotra of the deceased should observe a period of 'Ashaucha'- a period during which he observes strict austerities and avoids social contacts. The son of the deceased is prohibited from having food along with his relatives simply because he is believed to be impure during this period."

This way, being satisfied by Lord Krishna's answers, Garuda thanked him for clearing whatever doubts he had in his mind. Lord Krishna blessed him.

PROMINENT PLACES OF PILGRIMAGE

Sutji, while giving the names of some prominent places of pilgrimage told the assembled sages-'The banks of Ganga are considered to be the holiest among all the places of pilgrimage. The holy Ganga, which originates from the Himalayas in the north, ultimately gets merged with the ocean in the east. During her entire course of flow, she passes through numerous holy places, which owe their holiness mainly to her. Although, any place situated on the banks of Ganga is considered holy, yet Prayag, Haridwar, Varanasi and Ganga sangam (The place where she meets the ocean) have special significance and there is no other place as holy as each of them. Prayag is believed to fulfill both the wishes, which a man aspires for- worldly enjoyments as well as salvation.

Performing the rituals of pinda daan here not only helps the ancestors to liberate but also himself. Varanasi is the same place where lord Shiva and Keshav have their respective abodes. Donating at Kurukshetra brings incomparable virtues and gives both worldly enjoyments as well as salvation. Kedar teerth is capable of liberating even a heinous sinner from all his sins. Few other places considered very holy are- Shwetdweepa, Naimisharanya, Pushkar, Ayodhya, Chitrakut, Gomti, Kanchipuri, Sri Shail, Kaam- teerth, Amarkantak, Ujjain, Mathura, Govardhan, etc. All these places have great religious significance and each of them is capable of liberating a man from all his sins.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF GAYA TEERTH

Once, while narrating how Gaya, a prominent place of pilgrimage in eastern part of India got its name, Lord Brahma told sage Vyas-' During ancient times there lived a mighty demon named Gaya. He used to torment the deities, who ultimately went to seek the help of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu successfully killed Gayasur after a fierce mace-duel (Dwand Yuddh with Gadaa). The place where Gaya died became famous by his name. There is a grand Vishnu temple situated at Gaya where there is a magnificent idol of Lord 'Gadhadhar' (Lord Vishnu holding a mace in his hand).

Gaya is considered to be the most ideal place of pilgrimage for performing the shraddh rituals. It is believed that a person goes to hell if he dies in the following circumstances- if he dies without his consecrations being performed, or if a wild animal kills him, or if he meets an accidental death no matter what the reasons are. But, if 'Shraddh rituals' are performed at 'Gaya' then the soul of such a man gets rid of the tortures of the hell and goes to heaven.

The importance of performing 'Shraddh rituals' over there can be gauged by the fact that a person becomes liberated from 'pitra rina' (debts towards one's father) once he touches the sacrosanct soil of 'Gaya'. The reason being that Lord Vishnu himself dwells there in the form of 'Pitra devata' and by having his divine glimpse a man is freed of all his three debts. The entire area stretching from the foothills of Vishnu Mountain to 'Uttar Manas' is considered extremely holy and this is the same area where river Falgu flows. Offering 'Pinda daan' to ancestors at this place helps them to attain salvation. While performing the rituals of 'Pinda daan' he should chant the following matra-

'ESHA PINDO MAYA DASTRATAV HASTE JANARDANAH; PARLOKAM GATE MOKSHAM KSHAYMU PATISHTHATAAM.

There are many other places as holy as the banks of Falgu and performance of 'Shraddh rituals' over there give undiminished virtues to the ancestors - Dharma-Prishtha, Brahmasar, Gayashirsha, Akshay-Teerth, Dhenukaranya are few such places capable of liberating twenty generations of a man. The entire city of 'Gaya' is considered sacrosanct and performing the rituals of 'Shraddh' or offering Pinda daan to ancestors at any place within 'Gaya' helps the soul of the ancestors to attain to Brahmaloka.

THE RITUALS OF PINDADAAN

Before setting out for Gaya to offer Pinda daan, a man should appropriately perform 'Shraddh rituals' in the village or town he lives. Each step taken towards Gaya acts as a stepping stone to the heaven for the ancestors. Getting one's head tonsured or observing fast is prohibited in some places of pilgrimage like Badrinath, Kurukshetra, Jagannathpuri and Gaya. There is no time restriction on the performance of Shraddh rituals at Gaya and they can be performed anytime.

After reaching Gaya, a man should first of all invoke his ancestors while taking bath in the holy Falgu and offer pinda daan to them. He should then visit the temple of Lord Gadadhar(Vishnu) and worship the deity. The next day, he should once again perform the Shraddh rituals at Dharmaranya and Matangwapi, two sacrosanct places having great religious significance. On the third day, he should perform the rituals of 'Tarpan' on the banks of 'Brahmasada teerth' and then go to 'Koop-teerth' and 'Yoop-teerth' to repeat the performance of Shraddh rituals.

He should then feed the Brahmins at 'Goprachar teerth', an act considered to help ancestors attain salvation. On the fourth day he should take a holy dip in river Falgu and once again perform 'Shraddh rituals' at a place called 'Gayashirsh'. There are many more holy places in the vicinity where he is required to perform Shraddh rituals'- Vyas, Dehimukh, Panchagni, Surya- teerth, Som-teerth and Kartikeya-teerth are few of them. Finally, on the fifth day, he should take a holy dip in 'Gada-lolak' teerth and offer 'Pinda-daan' under the Banyan tree called 'Akshay vat'- an act believed to liberate all his predecessors as well as coming generations from the bondage of Earth. After that Brahmins are fed. Feeding one Brahmin at Gaya brings the same virtues what one would get by feeding one crore Brahmins elsewhere.'