Traditionalists Claim Online Pind Daan Dilutes Sacred Gaya Ritual

GAYA, 20 September — Veteran Gaya pandits have raised the alarm over the growing market for online Pind Daan and packaged pilgrimage tours. Senior priest Rajan Sijuar explained that the ritual has been conducted by a continuous line of Gaya priests since antiquity, involving offerings to the Pitrs, tirtha water from the Falgu, and the final "sufal" blessing under the Akshay Vat. Transforming this solemn act into a tourism product, he warned, jeopardises the spiritual integrity of the practice. He also appealed to the state tourism department to halt advertisements that promise cheap virtual Pind Daan bookings. The priestly community has vowed to organize a collective movement if the online schemes are not withdrawn, insisting that any form of fraud against devotees will be met with strong resistance.