Gaṇḍaka
Gaṇḍaka
Grammar: masculine noun; as printed in the Brahma Purāṇa, the name of a bird.
Meaning: a creature named among the offerings of śrāddha, the rite for the pitṛs.
In the scriptures: in the Brahma Purāṇa, Vyāsa tells the munis what is used in śrāddha so that the pitṛ-devatās are pleased, and how long each offering satisfies them, from one month for havishya-anna to a year for cow’s milk or pāyasa. Then he says that the meat of the gaṇḍaka bird, kālaśāka greens, honey, the meat of the red goat and rice, when offered by one’s own descendants, give endless satisfaction and bring sons (Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 220).
In the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa: in the account of the pūjā of Durgā, Nārāyaṇa Ṛshi tells Nārada what is fit to be offered as bali and how long each pleases the Devī. The māyāti pleases her for a thousand years, the buffalo for a hundred years, the sheep for ten years, the goat, the pumpkin, birds and deer for one year, and the kṛshṇasāra deer for ten years. The gaṇḍaka, the rhinoceros, pleases her for a thousand years. Offerings of flour-cakes made as substitutes, and other animals, please her for six months, and ripe fruits and akshata for one month (Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapter 64).
Related terms: Śrāddha · Pitṛ · Kālaśāka · Khaḍga
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 220
- Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapter 64