Makar Sankranti: Devotees visit temples, take holy dip in Ganga

Gorakhpur/Lucknow/ Hyderabad: Lakhs of devotees took a bracing dip in the Ganga and thronged temples to offer prayers, colourful rangolis adorned houses and multi-hued kites dotted the skies as people across the length and breadth of the country celebrated Makar Sankranti on Sunday.

Over 20 lakh devotees took a dip in the holy waters of the Ganga and the Sangam till 4 pm at the ongoing Magh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, according to authorities.

In Gorakhpur, all roads led to the Gorakhnath temple where devotees started queuing up since 4 am to offer ‘khichdi’, made from a mix of lentils and rice, to Shiva avatar Guru Gorakhnath. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple was thrown open to the public after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is also the Mahant of Gorakshpeeth, performed rituals in the morning.

Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter to greet people on the occasion of Pongal, Magh Bihu and Makar Sankranti.

“Best wishes on Magh Bihu. I hope this festival deepens our bond with nature and furthers the atmosphere of joy,” he said.

“Pongal greetings to everyone, particularly the Tamil people worldwide. May this festival bring happiness and wonderful health in our lives,” he said.

While ‘Magh Bihu’ is when the annual harvest takes place, Pongal is a four-day harvest festival dedicated to the Sun God.

The festival of ‘Sankranti’ is celebrated in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for three days – ‘Bhogi’, ‘Sankranti’ and ‘Kanuma’. ‘Sankranti’ is the main festival, followed by ‘Kanuma’ when cattle are worshipped. In Telangana, people drew colourful ‘Muggus’ (rangolis) outside their houses and visited temples to offer prayers.

Thousands of people travelled from Hyderabad to their native places, including neighbouring states, to celebrate the festival. The Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway witnessed heavy traffic. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and other leaders extended their greetings to the people.

Devotees made a beeline for the 14 ghats built on the banks of the Ganga and the Sangam for the Magh Mela since 4 am to take a holy dip in the icy waters.

Kashi Sumeru Peethadhishwar Swami Narendranand Saraswati said the Puranas describe Makar Sankranti as the day of the gods and donations made on this day are returned a hundred-fold.

Donating pure ghee and blankets on this day leads to salvation, he said. Makar Sankranti celebrations at the famous Gorakhnath temple began with Chief Minister Adityanath performing rituals in the early hours of the day.

Devotees from eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Nepal visited the temple to pray for happiness, prosperity and health. The festival also marked the beginning of the month-long ‘Khichdi Mela’ at the temple. On Sunday, ‘khichdi’ was distributed to all the devotees during a joint feast at the temple.