In the sacred land of Gayā, the scriptures extol the greatness of performing rites for the ancestors. It is said that in the forest of Dharma or at the holy pond of Mataṅga, one should offer piṇḍa and conduct the prescribed ancestral rites. At Brahma tīrtha, the merit earned equals that of the grand Rājasūya and Aśvamedha sacrifices. When water from a well is used in these offerings, the benefit to the ancestors becomes imperishable. The texts further instruct that śrāddha and piṇḍa should be performed between the two sacrificial wells. By merely serving the ancestors in these ways, they are set upon the path to liberation. At the revered Phalgu Tirtha, on the fourth day, after purifying oneself with a bath, one should begin the oblations with offerings to the gods. Piṇḍas are to be placed at the mouth of the Vyāsa, at the five sacred fires, and at the three steps. The śrāddha may be performed for nine or even twelve deities according to tradition. At Gayā, there is a unique observance: the śrāddha for the mother is performed separately, whereas elsewhere it is usually done together with the husband. It is declared that one who touches the feet of Rudra is freed from rebirth, and this same fruit is attained by performing śrāddha at the summit of Gayā. There, the ancestors attain divinity beyond all doubt. Even with little austerity, one gains immense merit: those suffering in hell ascend to heaven, and those already in heaven attain liberation. By offering piṇḍas to the ancestors at Gayā, one redeems the entire lineage. Feeding even a single brāhmaṇa there is as meritorious as feeding ten million. Such a person attains inexhaustible worlds and uplifts a hundred families. Alternatively, one may perform the Aśvamedha sacrifice or release a blue bull, but the scriptures especially recommend offering piṇḍas at the summit of Gayā in the name of the Lord. Hearing these instructions, a merchant once performed the piṇḍa offering at Gayāśīrṣa to the Lord of the Dead. Through this act, all his ancestors were liberated—even Viśāla was freed—and the merchant was blessed with sons. When he asked, “How shall I have sons and brāhmaṇas, O Viśālaka?” Viśāla, too, performed offerings at Gayāśīrṣa and received a son as a result. On one occasion, Viśāla inquired, “Who are you all?” Among those present, a pale one replied, “My son, my father was addicted to violence, a slayer of a Brahmin, and foremost in wickedness. He fell into the hell called Avīci, but through these rites, he was liberated and became a recipient of offerings.” Viśāla, having fulfilled his duties and ruled his kingdom, ascended to heaven. The scriptures also remember those who have not undergone the cūḍā ceremony, those lost before birth, and pray that by offerings made on earth, they too may be satisfied and attain the highest state. The mother, paternal grandmother, great-grandmother, aged maternal grandfather, and supreme maternal grandmother—all are included in these inexhaustible offerings, which are established for the benefit of all ancestors and relatives. Thus concludes the eighty-fourth chapter of the Śrī Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa, in the Pūrvakhaṇḍa, Ācārakāṇḍa, named “The Greatness of Gayā.” The narrative continues: after bathing at Pretaśilā and with the sanctifying nectar of Varuṇa’s seat, oblations are offered for all those in the lineage whose destinies are unknown—those who have died in the paternal or maternal line, in the maternal grandfather’s line, even those whose names and family are forgotten. The offerings are made for the deliverance of those toothless from birth, those afflicted in the womb, and those who died by unnatural means—by hanging, poison, or weapons. All are remembered, and for all, deliverance is sought through these sacred rites.