Temples In India-1.pdf - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKAChaudasahia, as old as the Gaya pilgrimage,is an organisation of the Gayawals, theMadhva-Sampradayi officiating priests ofthe Gaya-pilgrimage and custodians of theVishnupada and other vedis. It conductsthe daily worship, bhoga, arati, etc. Thebhogas of morning and night consist ofsweets and fruits and the bhogas of noonand evening consist of cooked rice, pulse,bread, etc. The Chaudasaia run the Vishnupada-arealibrary, pathasala and gosala.It also undertakes repairing and cleaningof the temple and other holy Gaya-vedis.The Gayawal Kirtan Samaj entertains thepilgrims and visitors by bhajan-kirtan heldin the sabha-mandapa of the temple everyevening.There is a century-old governmentsponsoredinstitution at Gaya-LodgingHouse Committee, which looks after thevarious conveniences and amenities of theGaya-pilgrims and also undertakes all-rounddevelopment works of the Vishnupada andother holy spots of the Gaya-pilgrimage.By the committee’s efforts, tulasi-leavesand flowers of the Tulsibagh-garden arebeing provided daily to the Vishnu-padatempleand also Sahnai-music is provideddaily at the temple during the time ofmangala-arati in the morning and Sringaraartiin the night. The notable religiousfestivals ceremoniously held at the templeare the Jhulan utsava on Sravanapaurnima,Rama-Navami in Aswain, Lakshmi-Puja onKartik-Amavasiya, etc. Besides these,Ramakatha, Krishna-Lila, bhajan-Kirtan,Sastriya-Sangeet, religious speeches, etc.are occasionally held at the mandapa ofthe temple. Since 1962, the death-Anniversary ceremony of Rani Ahalyabai,the donator of the present temple, is beingTEMPLE INDIAsolemnly held annually at the Vishnupadarest-house on the Bhadra-Krishna-Chaturdashi tithi, under the auspices ofthe Lodging House Committee.The average number of daily visitors tothe Vishnupada-temple is two hundred. Onauspicious days of Ekadashi, Mesh-Sankranti, Kartik-Purnima, etc, the numberis higher. In the dark fort nights of Chaitraand Pausa, more than twenty-fivethousandpilgrims, coming from differentparts of the country, offer Pindas to themanes at the Vishnupada and other holyspots. During the famous pitripaksha (darkfortnight of Aswin), more than two lakhspilgrims come to Gaya, from all parts ofthe Hindu-world, to offer pindas atVishnupada and other Vedis. Other notablePuranic Vaishnava temples at Gaya are,Gadadhara, Adi-Gadadhara, Janardana,Pundarikaksha, Jaganatha, Nrisimha, etc.RanaLaksha (1390 A.D.),Rana Sanga (1590)of Udaipur and other kings, as guardiansof Hindu religion, gallantly fought with theiconoclast Muslims and saved theVishnupada and other temples of Gayatirtha.Rao Jodhan of Jodhpur (1452) andother benevolent kings compelled theMuslim rulers to decrease the exorbitantpilgrims-tax, forcibly imposed on the poorGaya pilgrims. (J. Todd’s ‘Annals &Antiquities of Rajasthan’ chs., 14, 15,32,etc. and K. Gurda’s Gaya-Mahatmya inHindi, p.102, Gaya, 1916).The temple of Vishnupada at Gaya is oneof the greatest Vaishnava temples of Indiaand is also the most sacred pinda-Dana-Vedi of the Gaya-pilgrimage. As such, itattracted many venerable saints andcelebrated persons. Their sacred tours atGaya increased the popularity and sanctity167