Pancha Gaya Shrines

There are five Mukti Kshetra where patriarchal rites and fetal priming can be performed in the country. Shiro Gaya in Gaya of Bihar state Nabhi Gaya in Jajipur of Orissa state and Pada Gaya in Pithapuram of Andhra Pradesh are known as Trigaya Shrines.  Along with the three Gaya Shrines, Brahmakapal  at Badrinath located in the Himalayan and the Bindu Sarovar in Siddapur of Gujarat state are called as Pancha Gaya Shrines. The five shrines are inscribed in the Legends as the Pancha Mukti Kshetra and believed that the ancestral deities are liberated by offering the fetus in the five shrines. Shiro Gaya, Nabhi Gaya, Pada Gaya, and in Brahmakapal fetus can be given to both the parents. It is described in the legends that fetus can offer to the mother deities only in Bindu Sarovar of Siddhapur.

Sage Veda Vyas stated about the Three Gaya Shrines in the third part of Skanda Puran, one of the eighteen legends, that Lords Vishnu Brahma and Lord Shiva are engraved in the three Gaya Shrines Gaya, Jajipur and Pithapuram on the desire of demon Gayasur. In addition to that the three Sakthi Peeth Mangala Gauri, Girija Devi and Puruhutika Devi engraved  at Gaya, Jajipur and Pithapuram from the body parts of Sati scattered on earth when she has self sacrificed in the alter performed by Daksha and her body  incised by Lord Vishnu with his Sudarshana Chakra to divert the attention of Lord Shiva  from her separation. 

According to the legend on Shiro Gaya, Nabhi Gaya and Pada Gaya, Gayasur, a demon king, performed long penance about Lord Vishnu and was blessed with a boon that his body to be most sacred than all the holy rivers. Humans and other beings used to get free from their sins with the wind blowing through the body of Gayasur became most sacred with the boon of Lord Vishnu. Gayasura occupied the throne of Indra as a result of Ashvamedh Yagna performed by him along with other Yagas and Indra thrown away from heaven. Indra performed penance for Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. He prayed to restore his position as the people are suffering with the followers of Gayasur and the gods became weak without having Avissu from Yaga.

Lords Brahma,Vishnu and Shiva think that Gayasur should be killed and arrived to Gayasur disguising themselves as Brahmins. They asked to give his body as a place to perform their altar for weekdays since there is no holy place for altar on earth. They made a condition that his body should not be moved until the end of the sacrifice, and they informed that they will kill him if the condition violated. Agreeing to this, Gayasur asked them to perform the yaga raising his body by placing his head in Gaya, abdomen in Jajipur and feet in Pithapuram. They have started the Yagya by sitting Vishnu at the head, Brahma at the abdomen and Shiva at the feet. Gayasur did not move his body and counted the days according to the exclamation of hen.

After completion of Six days Indra and other deities prayed the Trinity that it would not be possible to defeat Gayasur, after seamless completion of the 7th day of the Yaga. On the seventh day, at midnight, Lord Shiva shouted “Kokkurokko” like a hen with his throat, and Gayasur wake up thinking that it is the sun raise time and the seven days of yaga were completed successfully. Brahma,Vishnu and Shiva ready to exterminate Gayasura since he has broken his promise. Gayasura realized that they are not other than the trinity. The trinity asked Gayasur to ask his last wish.  Gayasur said that the places where his head, abdomen and feet were placed during the Yagya should be known as Gaya Kshetras, and that the souls who got performed Pinda Pradhan of living beings should attain Brahmalok besides the three shrines should become Shakti Peethas.

The trinity blessed that the places where Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva stands as Gaya, Nabhi Gaya and Pada Gaya respectively and the souls of the deceased get fetal in these shrines attain Brahmalok. He was also blessed that the three shrines will become famous as Shakti Peeth with the names of Mangalagauri, Girija and Puruhutika. Lord Vishnu killed Gayasur and cut his body into three parts.

According to the legend of the origin of Brahma Kapal, Brahma has five heads. The five-faced Brahma has extreme superior complex among the trinity and felt that he is the greatest of the three. The words of Brahma that Vishnu and Shiva have no duties without his creation and the obedient supporters of Brahma praised Brahma. Vishnu affirms that there is no difference between the trinity and all the three are equal. Vishnu could not convinced Brahma and he agreed that Brahma was great since there is no other go. Brahma went to Kailash with the pride of victory and argued with Lord Shiva that he would be the greatest of the trinity. Lord Shiva convinced Brahma that there could be no greater or lesser difference in the trinity. Lord Shiva find out that Brahma feels his greatness in his fifth head and condemned the Brahma fifth head with his trident, since he felt that there would be disturbance in creation if the idea continued in the head of Brahma. Legend is it that the fifth head fallen on the banks of Alaknanda River at the Badrinath Shrine attained salvation and Brahma lost his pride and the place became famous as  Brahma Kapal (skull).

According to another story, Brahma satisfied with the penance of Cupid and presented three arrows, informing that the arrows would increase the sexual desire of whom experimented with them. Cupid shoots an arrow on Brahma for testing, and the whole creative process comes to a standstill since Brahma got sexual desire on a beautiful young woman named Shatarupa, and looks at her with his fifth head  wherever she goes. Shatarupa was created by Brahma to help in creation. Knowing this, Lord Shiva created Veerabhadra and ordered him to condemn the fifth head of Brahma. Veerabhadra cut off the fifth head of Brahma and threw it on the river bank of Alaknanda near the Badrinath shrine. The place where the head of Brahma fell is known as Brahmakapal.

The head of Brahma which fell in Alaknanda attain salvation. Later, Lord Shiva performed penance at Badrinath, worshiped Badrinath and freed himself from the sin of Brahmahatya. It is said in the Legends that the souls to whom fetal made at Brahmakapal attain since it is the place where the fifth head of Brahma attained salvation.

Bindu Sarovar, one of the Pancha (Five) Sarovar namely Manasa Sarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayana Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkara Sarovar, which are mentioned in  Rig Veda and are considered the holiest places by the Hindus located in Siddapur, popularly known as Matru Gaya. The holy place popularly known to be Matru Gaya as it is the place where Matru Shraddh and Uttara Kharma are performed. Thousands of people from all over the country visit Siddapur during the Telugu month of Kartik (October and November) to pay tributes to their deceased mother. Devahuti mother of sage Kapil left her body with the grace of God who has removed all the defects in her mind following the instructions given by her son and the body became a sacred river with the name of Gyanavapi. Even today it is believed that sages invisibly take bath in the holy river to purify them.

It is believed that the lake at which Matru Shraddh and Uttara Kharma are performed is a lake in which the tear drops fallen from the eyes of Lord Vishnu. Lord Parasuram gave the embryo to his mother on the bank of Bindu Sarovar. The temple of Parasuram was built here. Sage Kapila performed penance at the place and where his mother was taught with the knowledge of Moksha. Apparently pilgrims in the country feel to carry the fetus to their mother here. In Brahmakapal, Gaya, Nabhi Gaya and Pada Gaya, the embryo is predominant among the ancestral deities, those of the maternal lineage and the paternal lineage. But at Bindu Sarovar of Siddapur in the state of Gujarat alone, thousands of people from all over the country arrive to perform the maternity program only for those of the maternal lineage to repatriate the fetus.