Place · Vishnu temple · India
Vishnupada Temple
The inner sanctum of Vishnupad temple houses a 40-centimeter footprint of Lord Vishnu imprinted on a solid basalt block known as Dharmashila, surrounded by a silver-plated basin. According to Hindu legends, the site marks the spot where Lord Vishnu subdued the demon Gayasura by pressing him beneath the earth with his foot.
- Periods
- Classical and Puranic Age, Regional Flourishing, Islamic Age and Bhakti Traditions, Early Modern Age, British Colonial Age, Republic and Living Practice
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 24.610, 85.009
Worth knowing
It is the primary center for performing Pind Daan and Shraddha rites—Vedic ancestral rituals believed to grant salvation (moksha) to departed souls.
Connections (1)
- Site adjacencyGayā / Vishnupada
The inner sanctum holds a forty-centimetre footprint impressed in a solid basalt block, the Dharmashila, surrounded by a silver plated octagonal basin — the object around which the entire Gaya death-rite economy is organised. Pilgrims offer pinda here at the end of a circuit of subsidiary sites, and the priestly families who guide them keep registers going back generations, so a visitor can often be shown the entry for a great-grandparent's visit.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Vishnupad Temple”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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