Devotees perform 'pind dan' on the last day of Pitru Paksha in Varanasi

Scores of devotees on Wednesday visited the banks of the holy river Ganga in Varanasi to offer prayers to their ancestors on the last day of Pitru Paksha, also known as Sarvapitari Amavasya.

According to the Hindu calendar, Pitru Paksha or the 16-day lunar day period on Mahalaya is when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors (Pitars), marking the beginning of 'Devi Paksha', the day marked by the arrival of Goddess Durga.

Those who perform the ritual believe that this rite will deliver salvation to departed souls.

"With devotion, everyone performs the ceremony of pind dan to pay homage to their father and mother. Today is a very important day as it is also the day of the new moon (Amavasya)," said Ravishankar Upadhyay, who performed 'pind dan' here.

A large number of devotees also visited the banks of the holy Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers in Priyagraj to pay their homage. Similarly, devotees were also seen performing 'pind dan' on the banks of Falgu river in Gaya, Bihar and on the bank of river Hooghly in Kolkata.