Ayodhya, Amrit Vichar: About five lakh devotees took a dip in Saryu on the occasion of Makar Sankranti festival. Earned virtuous benefits by visiting temples and worshiping. Administrative and police deployment was made along with civil facilities for the devotees.
There is a religious belief that bathing, donating and worshiping in Saryu on Makar Sankranti destroys all sins. One receives special blessings from Lord Surya. With this faith, a large crowd of devotees had reached Ayodhya for Makar Snan.
On this important festival of Uttarayan with the entry of Lord Sun in Capricorn, Ayodhya witnessed a wonderful confluence of faith and devotion. According to estimates, around five lakh devotees took bath in the holy Saryu. Crowds of devotees started appearing on the roads in Ayodhya since early morning, chanting ‘Har Har Mahadev’ along with ‘Jai Siyaram’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’. There was a flood of devotees at the ghats of Saryu from Brahma Muhurta. A large number of devotees from the country and the state had reached Ayodhya along with the surrounding districts of Ambedkar Nagar, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Gonda, Basti. He was waiting for the dawn. As soon as it was four o’clock, the process of bathing started. Despite the westerly wind and severe cold, the enthusiasm of the devotees was palpable. After bathing, the devotees took the Khichdi Prasad along with donating Khichdi.
Huge crowd of devotees in Hanumangarhi and Ram temple
After bathing in Saryu and donating, devotees worshiped Lord Hanuman at Shri Hanumangarhi. After this, there was a long queue of devotees in Shri Ram temple since morning. Along with this, huge crowd was seen in other temples of Ayodhya also. Devotee Ram Kishore said that bathing in Saryu on Makar Sankranti has a different significance. The city of Shri Ram is the center of spirituality and after coming here it seems that all the sins are washed away. Alok said that this is a festival of new resolutions along with bathing and charity. The grace of Lord Surya infuses new energy into Jaavan.
Elaborate arrangements were made
SP City Chakrapani Tripathi said that security arrangements had been tightened in view of the crowd. Police, PAC and administrative officials were deployed on alert mode at the ghats. Along with monitoring through CCTV cameras, barricades and boards for crowd management were installed to indicate the route.
Extensive arrangements for Mauni Amavasya and Basant Panchami: DM
-District Magistrate Nikhil Tikaram Funde has made special arrangements to ensure that the devotees do not face any inconvenience during the fair. Extensive arrangements have been made for the next bathing festivals Mauni Amavasya and Basant Panchami.