Gaya, Bihar,
India
Gaya, a noted Hindu pilgrimage centre visited by ~300,000 pilgrims annually,
lies along the Falgu River, a tributary of the Ganges. Most pilgrims come
for pinda daan, an offering to free their ancestors from bondage
to the earth. The main shrine is the Vishnu temple built by the Maratha
princess Ahalya Bai of Indore in 1787, and is said to contain a footprint of
Vishnu, which happens to be remarkably similar to a human one! The
village of Bodh Gaya, 10 km south of Gaya, is famous as the site of the
Buddha's enlightenment.
♣ [- July
06]
|
Ghats of Gaya
 |
Rural Bihari
boy
 |
Vishnupad
temple entrance
 |
Built in 1787
(more)
 |
Temple
interior
 |
|
Falgu River
 |
Footprint of
Vishnu?
 |
The ghats
 |
Countryside
 |
The road to
Bodh Gaya
 |
Lord Buddha
public school
 |
Country road
 |
