Rāma Piṇḍa Dāna at Mandākinī

After Bharata came to Citrakūṭa with the news that King Daśaratha had died in Ayodhyā, Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa offered piṇḍa dāna for him. Piṇḍa dāna is the offering of piṇḍas (balls of rice or other food) to the departed. They made the offering on the bank of the Mandākinī river at Citrakūṭa.

The Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa tells this with touching detail. It shows how Sītā took part in the rite. It also shows how hard the forest made it to find the proper things for the rite. Rāma offered what the forest could give.

Learning of Daśaratha’s death

Bharata came to Citrakūṭa, and the two brothers met in tears. Bharata told Rāma that Daśaratha had died in Ayodhyā. The king could not live through the separation from Rāma. The old curse of the parents of Śravaṇa had come true.

Rāma, Sītā and Lakshmaṇa grieved deeply. Their duty was now clear and could not wait. They had to offer piṇḍa dāna, as part of the rites for the ancestors.

The offering on the river bank

Rāma went to the bank of the Mandākinī with Sītā and Lakshmaṇa to offer the piṇḍa dāna. The usual things for a full śrāddha (the rite for the departed) were not to be had in the forest. These include the proper grains, sesame and other materials. Rāma offered what the forest gave. He made piṇḍas from forest fruits and tubers. He offered them with the same devotion and with the proper mantras.

The Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa records one very moving moment. Sītā took sand from the bank of the Mandākinī. With her own hands she made a piṇḍa for Daśaratha, her father-in-law, who had been kind to her. She offered it with a prayer. A piṇḍa of river sand from the hands of a loving daughter-in-law is shown as just as effective as any grand śrāddha.

The Mandākinī, the holy river that was their home in the forest, received the offerings and was the witness to them. (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 95–96)

What the episode shows

• Pitṛ-karma, the duty to the departed, cannot be put off or left out, even in the hardest conditions.
• The forest gives what is needed to those who live by dharma. The materials may be very simple, but they are enough when they are offered with the right intention and with mantras.
• Sītā took an active part in the offering. This shows her place in the ritual life of Rāma’s family and her devotion to Daśaratha as her husband’s father.

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, Chapters 95–96