Stairs of Death
Pretshila Of Gaya is one of the five holiest pilgrimages sites in India also it has the Stairs of Death. Crowds of Hindus from different countries parts of the nation are here to offer Pindas to their ancestors. The location of this place is near Phalgu river in Bihar state of India. Another name is Pret hill or Vishnu Dham.
It is the place where all those die unnaturally their family members come here to offer Pinda for the peace of their soul. People believe in this place there are feet prints of Lord Vishnu Himself. This hill has a height of about 1000 feet. Here almost 600 stairs. Relatives of unusual dead people go to this mountain with the belongings like cloths, pictures. they climb these 600 stairs and there is tree at the top where they tie all these things. Actually, this the place where Pinda has to give.
Among the many ghostly and mysterious places in India, this place occupies an important place. After dusking this place looks very scary. Pinda is given at early morning. It is believed that all the spirits reside here, so place is very dangerous. A temple of Yama raj has been established by Queen Ahilya Bái Holkar for those souls who’s after death all religious rules were not followed. However, the temple has been rebuilt many times since then. in 1974 the stairs constructed by Manmohan Dutta of Kolkata. There is a Banyan tree under the hill where there is pictures of dead peoples as well as at the top of the hill.
Ramchandra came this place for giving Pinda to his father. It is even heard that Sri Chaitanya Deva also stared his initiation from this place. People believe that many spirits roam here, but they cannot harm human. The whole Pinda Dan process is done around a rock. So, there is mystery in every aspect of this place. There are many temples in the vicinity centered from this place. The hill is the highest among the seven hills in Gaya. Earlier there were more than 360 places for Pinda dan but it stands only to 48.
The nearest station is Gaya Station. Which is only 4 km from hill. Purba expresses, Shipra express, New Delhi Rajdhani express, Howrah Gaya express, Netaji express, Jodhpur Superfast express are available trains to reach here.
