It was something they had waited for over three centuries. Hundreds of ‘kinnars’ (transgenders who follow Hinduism) on Saturday offered mass ‘pind-daan’ to pay homage to their forefathers in accordance with the ancient texts.
The last time they had offered pind-daan, a ritual undertaken by the Hindus to ensure that their ancestors attain salvation, was in the 16th century during the Mughal rule. The ‘mahamandaleshwar’ (a senior Hindu seer belonging to an akhara or sect) of the Ujjain-based Kinnar Akhara, Luxmi Narayan Tripathi, led the ceremony, during which pandits chanted vedic hymns. The ceremony was conducted at the famous Pishach Mochan Kund in Varanasi.
“It is a historic occasion for us...the spirits of our forefathers had been roaming for want of pind-daan...now they will attain salvation,” Tripathi said. Hundreds of kinnars from across the country had started arriving at Varanasi since Friday.
Before performing the rituals, they also paid obeisance at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Seers who were present at the ceremony said that the rituals would continue throughout the Pitrapaksh, the month during which the pind-daan is performed.
Devotees galore
Devotees from different parts of the world had gathered to witness the ceremony performed by the colourfully attired kinnars. According to Hindu mythology, a person who dies in Kashi (original name of Varanasi) attains moksha (salvation) and is freed from the cycle of re-birth. Hindus throng Varanasi to cremate their dead on the banks of the Ganga. For performing the ‘pind-daan’, however, they go to the Pishach Mochan Kund, which holds special significance for the salvation of the dead.
Published 24 September 2016, 19:19 IST