Sacred Site of the Mahabharata
Gaya
गया
Foremost tirtha for ancestral rites, visited in the tirtha-yatra
Gaya (Gaya, Bihar, on the Phalgu river): Foremost tirtha for ancestral rites, visited in the tirtha-yatra, located at coordinates 24.75°N, 85.01°E.
Key Facts
| Type | Sacred Site |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit name | गया |
| Coordinates | 24.75°N, 85.01°E |
| Modern location | Gaya, Bihar, on the Phalgu river |
| Significance | Foremost tirtha for ancestral rites, visited in the tirtha-yatra |
About Gaya
The great tirtha of the ancestors, where offerings of pinda free the fathers from debt. The Pandavas performed rites here on their pilgrimage, and the Vana Parva declares a son who offers at Gaya redeems his whole line.
Why it matters: Foremost tirtha for ancestral rites, visited in the tirtha-yatra
Details
- Parva
- Vana Parva tirtha-yatra; Anushasana Parva tirtha praises
On the Map
Gaya sits at 24.75°N, 85.01°E, in Gaya, Bihar, on the Phalgu river.
View on the full mapEvents at Gaya
- Rites at GayaYear -23At Gaya, the tirtha that delivers the ancestors, the Pandavas offer pinda for Pandu and the departed Kurus beside the immortal banyan, the Akshaya Vata.
Stories Set at Gaya
The Pilgrimage of the Fords
Lomasa Leads the Pandavas
The Four Quarters of the Sacred Land
A priest reciting the map of Bharatavarsha
The Ford of the Fathers
What a son is for, learned before Kurukshetra
The River With Seven Names
Wherever she was called, she came
The Names That Cleanse Sin
Asked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kings
Sakamvari and the Ford of Gold
The goddess who fed the sages on herbs, and the tirtha where Vishnu knelt to Rudra
The Mysteries of Religion, Part One
The deities, the Pitris and the Rishis each give up a duty whose reason is secret