Ramshila Hill

Ramshila Hill rises in Gaya and takes its name from the belief that Rama performed the Pinda Daan, the rite for departed ancestors, on its slopes. Old stone sculptures lie scattered along the climb, remains of shrines that once stood on the hill.

The temple at the top is believed to have been first built in 1014 AD and has been renovated since; it enshrines Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. In front of it stands a pavilion from 1811 where Hindu pilgrims gather to make ancestral offerings during Pitrapaksh. The complex also includes a Shiva temple about three hundred years old, with a Shivling of rock crystal roughly a foot high and a five-foot image of Ganesha.