Shloka 31
The Procedure for Offering Piṇḍa (Funerary Rice-balls) — Gayā-māhātmya
दंडं प्रदर्शयेद्भिक्षुर्गयां गत्वा न पिंडदः । न्यस्य विष्णुपदे दंडं मुच्यते पितृभिः सह ॥ ३१ ॥
daṃḍaṃ pradarśayedbhikṣurgayāṃ gatvā na piṃḍadaḥ | nyasya viṣṇupade daṃḍaṃ mucyate pitṛbhiḥ saha || 31 ||
गयां गत्वा भिक्षुः पिण्डदानं न कुर्यादपि, दण्डं तु प्रदर्शयेत्। विष्णुपदे दण्डं न्यस्य स पितृभिः सह मुच्यते॥
Narada
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
FAQs
It teaches that Gayā—especially Viṣṇupada—has exceptional salvific power: even a renunciant who cannot perform the full piṇḍa-rite may secure liberation for himself and his Pitṛs through a symbolic offering (placing the daṇḍa) at Viṣṇu’s sacred footprint.
Bhakti is implied through reliance on Viṣṇu’s grace at Viṣṇupada: the act is effective not merely as mechanics of ritual, but because it is performed at the locus of Viṣṇu’s presence, acknowledging Him as the ultimate giver of release for the living and the ancestors.
It reflects Kalpa (ritual procedure): a dharmic alternative for bhikṣus/saṃnyāsins who may not perform piṇḍa-dāna, substituting a sanctioned symbolic act at a prescribed tīrtha (Viṣṇupada, Gayā).