‘SRADDHA’ AND ‘PINDA DAN’ AT GAYA – A PART OF COMMON HERITAGE FOR BOTH BUDDHISM AND BRAHMANICAL RELIGION BY PRABUDDHA BISWAS

(C) Copyright of Prabuddha Biswas

[PUBLISHED IN BEHAR HERALD, NEW SERIES VOL.- II, 48TH AND 49TH ISSUE, SEP. 30, 2016, PATNA]

1. PITRIPAKSH MELA IN GAYA IS THE LARGEST GATHERING OF PEOPLE FROM THE HINDU RELIGION, WHERE ONE OFFERS 'PINDA DAN' FOR PARENTS, FOREFATHERS, FOR DEPARTED SOULS.

2. 'PINDA DAN' IN GAYA IS DIRECTLY LINKED WITH PRE-HISTORIC CULT PRACTICES, WHICH THE MAINSTREAM RELIGIONS HAVE BORROWED AND THAT INCLUDE HINDUISM, BUDDHISM  ALSO

3. THE VERY ESSENCE OF 'SHRADDHA' AND 'PINDA DAN' - THE MOST NOBLE AND IDEAL ONE, - WHICH HAS GOT THE UNIVERSAL APPEAL 

4. A PEEP INTO IT, THROUGH THE LENS OF 'HISTORY,   HERITAGE AND COMPOSITE CULTURAL ETHOS OF OUR GREAT CIVILISATION!'

INTRODUCTION

“Through ‘ANCESTORS’, MAN gets the ‘HERITAGE’; and from ‘NATURE’, MAN gets the sustenance; - To carry forward the ‘HERITAGE’.”

Hence, the worship of ‘ANCESTORS and NATURE’ are two pre-historic cult practices that had permeated all the primitive religions and ancient civilizations of the World. They even exist in various forms in all modern religions also. Whatever be its religious affiliation; no other cults have got such a noble and broad appeal and ideal cause with universal appeal.

In India, both the oldest cult practices evolved and amalgamated into SRADDHA CULT. Hence ‘Sraddha’ etymologically means reverence to PITA (Ancestor) and to PRAKRITI (Nature) and they are the oldest cult practices performed by both ‘HINDUS and BUDDHISTS of this country.

As a result, there were emergence of various SRADDHA SPOTS in different parts of the country, in space and time. Among all of them, GAYA KSHETRA in the Magadhan region had emerged as the most important Sraddha Spot in the Brahmanical tradition after its ‘ARYANISATION’ in the late Vedic phases (1,000 B. C. – 600 B.C.).

For Sraddha, Gaya is the ‘PITA-TIRTHA par excellence. The VISHNU PURANA says, “If a Man performs Sraddha with faith, at Gaya, he propitiates BRAHMA, INDRA, RUDRA and other Gods, sages, birds, beasts, men, creeping animals, hosts of PITRIS, all the beings, in fact, the entire World.”

THE CONCEPT

“The conceptual motive of ‘Sraddha’ is to associate human beings with Nature and identifying all the elements of flora and fauna with ancestors,” according to historian Dr. Arvind Mahajan, who has done extensive research on temples and religious sites of Gaya. Mahajan further added “Through ‘Sraddha’, one propitiates not only one’s own dead ancestors but also all departed souls of the World and thereby projects oneself as a well-wisher of the World.”

‘TARPANA MANTRA’ VIS-A-VIS ‘METTA BHAVANA’ – BRAHMANICAL RELIGION COMES CLOSER TO THE ESSENCE OF EARLY BUDDHISM

The sacred chant of ‘Sraddha’ requires the ‘DEVOUT HINDU PILGRIM’ (i) to define the ‘RANGE OF UNIVERSE’ and (ii) then HE will have to establish a complete harmony of the INNER-SELF (HEART) WITH THE NATURE, through ACT OF PIETY: -

“From the highest to the lowest point,

As far as extends the Universe,

Let All Divine Sages and Patriarchs,

All deceased Forefathers,

Both on the side of Father and Mother are propitiated.

Let this humble offering of ‘Tilodaka’

(The ‘Pinda’ offered during the observance of ‘Sraddha’ ritual)

Go to benefit the whole World

From the highest Heaven

Down to this Earth,

To benefit all the inhabitants of the seven continents

Who belonged to Crores of families in the past.”

There is no ritual in Brahmanical Religion which comes so nearer to Buddhism as the ‘Tarpana Mantra’ (in the later ‘Gaya Mahatmya’) of ‘Vayu Purana’). The formula of ‘Metta Bhavana (Cultivation of Friendship)’ in Early Buddhism is very close the essence of Tarpana Mantra: -

“Whosoever may be classed as Living Being,

Whether weak or strong, leaving none aside,

Whether of Long size or of large dimension,

Or of medium size, or of short stature,

Whether small or large,

Whether visible or invisible,

Whether to be found at hand or far off

Whether, actually born or to be born,

Let all beings be happy.”

SRADDHA VEDIS OF GAYA

In course of Sraddha ritual, one offers PINDA to various deities and the entire flora and fauna at different sites known as VEDIS. Apart from the sites of temples, images and icons, these VEDIS include the sites of sacred trees, forests, hills and hillocks, rivers etc. There are 348 VEDIS or TIRTHAS in Gaya where SRADDHA rites are to be performed as mentioned in GARUDA, VAYU, AGNI and SKANDA PURANAS.

‘SRADDHA VEDIS’, ‘SACRED COMPLEX’ AND THE ‘SACRED ZONE’ OF GAYA

Significantly, all SRADDHA VEDIS or TIRTHAS lie within the SACRED COMPLEX of Gaya which extends to a distance of five ‘kos’ (16 KMs) from north to south.

The SACRED GAYA extends from the PRETSHILA HILL in the north to as far as the SACRED ‘BO TREE (MAHABODHI TREE) at Bodh Gaya in the south.

The ‘BRAHMARANYA (at foothills of PRETSHILA)’ in the north and the ‘DHARMARANYA (Bodh Gaya)’ in the south, mark the boundary of the SACRED ZONE.  

The spread of the landscape of Gaya is more or less linear in the north-south direction as in the east it is bounded by the ‘PHALGU RIVER’ which is also a TIRTHA or VEDI and in the west by a range of hills in which are to be found various TIRTHAS.

A good number of trees are also regarded as ‘Sraddha Vedis’; and they are AKSHAYAVATA, BRAHMA PRAKALPITA AMRA, and BODHI VRIKSHA being some of them.

SRADDHA CULT – ROOTED IN THE PRE-HISTORIC CONSCIOUSNESSOF ANCESTORS, ABOUT THE ‘ENVIRONMENT’ AS CRUCIAL TO HUMAN SURVIVAL

1.   The nature of VEDIS and the rituals establish beyond doubt that the SRADDHA CULT is rooted in the pre-historic consciousness of ancestors about the ‘environment’ as crucial to human survival.

2.   The ‘ANCIENT MAN’ feared as well as revered ‘ENVIRONMENT’ and as such was eager to maintain the ECOLOGICAL BALANCE IN NATURE.

3.   The VEDIS related with FLORA were considered as ABODES OF SPIRITS OF ANCESTORS and those related with FAUNA were said to be MESSENGERS.

4.   With the passage of time, it became obligatory for the living beings to MAINTAIN THE SANCTITY OF VEDIS.

5.   Gradually, a belief developed that if one cause harm to SACRED VEDIS; the soul of dead ancestors, who are living there, will take revenge and may cause harm to the concerned person.

ENTRY OF BRAHMANICAL RELIGION IN THE DOMAIN OF ‘SRADDHA CULT’ AND ‘DEIFICATION OF VARIOUS SRADDHA VEDIS’ WITH DIFFERENT GODS

1.   With the entry of Vedic Cults and beliefs in the SRADDHA stream, the SACRED VEDIS were DEIFIED and later PERSONIFIED as various deities from the BRAHMANICAL MAINSTREAM RELIGION.

2.   Though, BRAHMANICAL RELIGION provided one more security cover to the ECOLOGY but it hijacked the simplistic essence of the PRE-HISTORIC CULT, THE BONDING OF THE MAN-NATURE CONTINUUM in the garb of the worship of ‘ANCESTORS and NATURE’.

3.   Since the dawn of civilization, the ASVATTHA TREE has had a special status in India.

(i)           The Brahmanical literature deified it by identifying it with various deities and after declaring it a manifestation of PITRIS got it incorporated in the SRADDHA CULT.

(ii)          The Rig Veda declared ASVATTHA TREE sacred as ABODE OF ‘YAMA’ AND ‘PITRIS (ANCESTORS)’ thereby further strengthening the concept of the offerings being made in favour of the PITRIS at the foot of ASVATTHA TREE.

(iii)        Again the ‘BRAHMANANDA PURANA’ says that BRAHMA was born of ASVATTHA TREE,

(iv)        While PADMA PURANA describes ASVATTHA TREE as the manifestation of LORD VISHNU.

(v)         Offerings made during SRADDHA to different trees of utilitarian nature signify entire flora point to the existence of SACRED VEDI of such a highly revered tree (ASVATTHA) in the SACRED COMPLEX of GAYA.

ENTRY OF BUDDHISM IN THE SRADDHA CULT

(i)           Buddhist literature describes the SACRED COMPLEX of HINDU GAYA as the regions of NADI, GAYA AND URUVELA (BODH GAYA),

(ii)          Which at present  has formed two well-defined sacred areas – the BRAHMA GAYA of Hindus and BUDDHA GAYA of Buddhists, the former representing the eternal domain of ‘AKSHYAVATA’ and the latter that of the BO-TREE or BODHI TREE i.e. ASVATTHA OR PEEPAL.

(iii)        It is interesting to note that at no place other than BO TREE (under which Gautam got enlightment and became Buddha) at BODH GAYA, SRADDHA is offered to PEEPAL TREE within the SACRED COMPLEX.

(iv)        This is the reason enough to believe that the practice of making offerings during SRADDHA at the BODHI TREE at BODH GAYA had been in fashion even in times, before Gautam Buddha.

[Special thanks to Dr. Arvind Mahajan, RDD, Directorate of Museums, Dept. of Art, Culture and Youth; Govt. of Bihar. This writing is the outcome after long discussion and conceptualisation with Dr. Mahajan along with other sources  ]. 

[END OF THE FIRST PART]

(C) Copyright of Prabuddha Biswas