On the occasion of Magh Purnima, the full moon night in the Hindu calendar’s Magha month, a significant number of devotees thronged the Prayag Ghat in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi and took a sacred dip in the river Ganga on Sunday morning. Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, sent his greetings on the occasion.
“On the auspicious occasion of ‘Magh Purnima’, heartiest greetings to all the people of the state and the respected saints, devotees and Kalpavasis who came to take bath in Prayagraj Magh Mela,” CM Yogi tweeted (roughly translated from Hindi).
On this day, worshippers take a holy dip in the Ganga, meditate, and pray to Lord Vishnu. After taking the dip, the worshippers go to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and bow their heads. On the full moon, thousands of devotees take a holy bath in the Ganga. Kalpavas, which lasts for one month beginning with Paush Purnima, also concludes today.
Kalpavas is a spiritual rite in which the Kalpavasi sleeps on the ground on the sand of Sangam for a month, eats just once a day, practises austerity, and chants the name of the Almighty. Savitri Pandey, a devotee speaking on ANI at Prayag Ghat in Varanasi, said, “Today, a plunge in the Ganga is considered holy. People drink from the Ganga both for themselves and for their ancestors.
Today, people fast and pray to the Moon and Lord Vishnu.” Another devotee, Anil Pandey, stated that taking a bath in the Ganga blesses the people.
