Foreign visitors perform ancestral rituals during Pitru Paksha fair in Gaya Ji

Foreign pilgrims from countries including Germany, Italy, Russia, Ukraine and Ghana performed pind daan and tarpan during the Pitru Paksha fair in Bihar's Gaya Ji. The visitors joined traditional rituals to honour their deceased ancestors and seek peace and liberation

Gaya Ji: A number of foreigners from countries including Germany, Russia, Ukraine and Ghana performed pind daan and tarpan on the banks of the Falgu river during the ongoing Pitru Paksha fair in Bihar’s Gaya Ji district on Friday.

They participated in the rituals according to Hindu traditions amid the chanting of mantras at the Pitru Paksha Mahasangam Mela, being held in the district from September 25 to October 10. The fair has attracted visitors to the river, Vishnupad Temple and various ‘pind vedis’ (sacred altars) to perform rituals for their ancestors.

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Dressed in traditional Indian attire, including saris and dhoti-kurtas, the pilgrims offered prayers at the sacred site and remembered their departed family members and friends.

“People come here to perform rituals for their sons, husbands, brothers and other relatives. Devotees from several European countries, including Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, have arrived to perform the rituals here. Forty-eight people arrived in three batches in two days,” said priest Lok Nath Gaur.

Some have also come from African countries such as Ghana, he said.

The priest recounted instances of pilgrims coming to Gaya Ji after losing loved ones in tragic circumstances, including a woman whose friend had drowned in a river in front of her.

Natalia, a first-time visitor from Milan, Italy, said she was grateful for the opportunity to worship her ancestors in Gaya Ji.

“I am very happy to be here. I express my gratitude to this land for giving us the opportunity to worship our ancestors,” she said.

Another young woman from Germany said she felt “blessed” to be in Gaya Ji to perform the rituals.

“Gaya Ji is a special place with a unique energy, unlike Germany,” she said, adding that she had been reading the Bhagavad Gita once a week for about five years to understand Hinduism and Lord Krishna.

Another pilgrim said her group had prepared for the rituals for a year by reading stories and understanding their importance.

Pind daan is a sacred Hindu ritual performed to honour deceased ancestors and help their souls attain peace and liberation (moksha).