Crows are considered as a very vital part of the Hindu culture, especially during the death rituals. These birds get fed Pinda Daan (offering rice balls to ancestors’ souls) on the ‘Sradhha ceremony’.
Sraddha is the ritual of paying homage and debts to the soul of a dead person. But, why only crows are fed Pinda Daan?
Often people cultivate the misconception of crows as the soul of the ancestors. But they are not. Crows are the vehicle of the souls to enter the earth. Because, after death, the soul gets departed and stuck in the ‘Pret Yoni’ (a world for souls who left their body with unfulfilled desires) for 10days.
So, when you follow the death rituals accurately by feeding the crows Pinda Daan, the soul gets released and enter ‘Pitri Yoni’ (a world between humans and gods).
Also, this ritual of feeding crows in Hinduism is done to rectify the Pitri Dosha (the sins done by our forefathers, knowingly or unknowingly), and to pay Pitri Rinn (debts) to our ancestors’ soul.
Besides, mythically, the crow is the vehicle of ‘Shanidev’ (the god of planet Saturn), who is the son of God Surya and Chhaya plus elder brother of Yamaraj- the god of death. It is said that by feeding crows daily, you are pleasing the gods to ensure the honest birth of the ancestors.
Additionally, some people feed the crows every day in the morning to get the blessings of their ancestors, which you should also consider. So, follow the feeding the crows rituals and get relieved from your ancestor’s debts.
Feature Image Credit: Image by Capri23auto from Pixabay. (free for commercial use)