Dev Prayag: “Pind Daan Ritual”

Dev Prayag  Sangam is the confluence of holy rivers and the place where the name of the Holy river, Ganga derived. It lies in the Tehri Garhwal District of Uttarakhand. Devprayag Sangam is said to be the location of the Navel of God Vishnu.

Now, the place holds very important ritual significance among Hindu pilgrims while visiting the Char Dham Yatra in the Uttarakhand Himalayas. The Significance of the Pind Daan Ritual at Dev Prayag is found in the Hindu Vedic literature dating back to thousands of years.

Rishikesh to Devprayag

• Where is Devprayag? It is perched at the confluence of two holy Devprayag Rivers,  Alaknanda, and the Bhagirathi, the town of Devaprayag dots at an elevation of 472 m from the sea level on the Badrinath Highway road about  75km from Rishikesh.
• History reveals that Dev Prayag town is named after a famous Himalayan Sage “Dev Sharma “, a sage, who did penance here and succeeded in having a glimpse of God.

Suggested Read –Pind Daan at Har-Ki-Pauri Ghat in Haridwar

The Legend Behind Rituals

According to the Hindu legend  Sury Vanshi king, Dilipa’s son Bhagirath was performing penance in the Himalayas. He wanted to bring down the river Ganga on the earth from heaven because the only mother the Ganges could liberate Bhagirath’s ancestors who were seeking liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth.

Badrinath Pandas (Priest)

Dev Prayag town is the winter seat of the Pandas (Priests ) of Shri Badrinath Dham & temple. After closing the Badrinath Dham & Temple for six months, all priests, travel to Dev Prayag, at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers for the Pind Daan rituals.

Suggested Read – Why Pind Daan Ritual at Sri Badrinath Temple?

Who are the Pandas?

The Pandas who are experts traditionally officiate the Pind Daan ritual. Pind Daan is a specific and the most vital ritual of worshiping the departed souls of ancestors or bringing liberation for the ancestors. Pind is a kind of symbolic offering observing prescribed rituals in Vedic scriptures.

What is the Pind?

Pind is loosely translated as a ball of rice or barley flour mixed with milk, honey, and sesame seeds, and the ball symbolically represents the no-physical form of the soul.

Dev Prayag Town

The beautiful and godly beauty of this holy Devprayag Uttarakhand draws the attention of many tourists and foreigners as well here and according to Hindu legend, Lord Rama and King Dushratha meditated here. For visitors who have faith and devotion in their hearts, they must visit the divine Himalayan town.

Raghunath Temple

The ancient and stone-made temple of Raghunathji is said to have been built some 1000 years ago and massive Himalayan stones are used to build this temple.

It stands tall upon a plinth, in the upper section of the holy town of Dev Prayag, and comprises a cupola with a golden onion-shaped ball and spire.

The Bathing Ritual

The pilgrims travel here to take a dip  & perform rituals at these two holy rock-cut tanks at the juncture point of these two holy rivers namely, Bhagirathi River and Alaknanda – on the river Bhagirathi, it is known as the Brahm Kund and on the river  Alaknanda, it is known as Vasisht Kund.